The US Department of Justice has charged Moldovan Alexander Lefterov with creating and operating a botnetthat infected thousands of computers in the United States.
The 37-year-old Moldovan, also known as Alipako, Uptime and Alipatime, was charged in December 2021 with theft , computer fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud.
The indictment, unsealed Tuesday, reveals that Lefterov and his associates used malware to steal credentials from the infected devices.
Using these credentials, they also gained access to bank accounts and were able to steal money from the victims.
See also: Multiple botnets exploit TP-Link flaws
The Moldovan could also access the infected computers through a hidden virtual network computing (hVNC), without the users' knowledge.
Direct access via the hVNC server allowed Lefterov and his associates to connect to victims' online accounts using browsers on the infected devices, which online platforms would recognize as a trusted connection.
Moldovan botnet helped ransomware gangs
Other cybercriminals could also access the botnet through the same hVNC server, and so they, in turn, could compromise networks and deploy malware. Lefterov appears to have taken a percentage of the profits made by other cybercriminals using his botnet.
The offenses for which the Moldovan is accused (e.g. computer fraud, unauthorized access to a protected computer, theft , etc.) are punishable by imprisonment of 2 to 10 years, depending on the offense. However, the final sentence will depend on the severity of the crimes and the criminal history of the defendant.
See also: RUBYCARP hackers: New botnet attacks
“Protecting Americans in cyberspace is a top priority, and we will aggressively pursue anyone, whether on U.S. soil or abroad, who believes our population is an easy target,” said FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek.
Protection against botnet malware
To protect yourself from Botnets, it is important to keep your device's software and operating system up to date. attacks exploit known vulnerabilities that have been fixed in more recent versions of the software.
Additionally, it is important to use a reliable security program that provides protection against malware and botnets. This should include performing regular scans to detect and remove any attacks.
See also: FBI “broke down” Moobot botnet used by Russian hackers
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Using strong passwords and changing them regularly is another way to protect yourself from Botnets. Botnet attacks often try to guess passwords , so using strong passwords and changing them regularly can help protect your accounts.
Finally, information security training can be particularly useful. Understanding how attacks work and the techniques they use can help you identify and avoid attacks.
Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com
