FBI disrupts International cyber fraud Botnet operation

by Joel Hendon⁽¹⁷⁰⁾ Red Star

http://hebronics.org/index.html

A Botnet is a network of virus-infected computers which are being controlled by the attacker. The Coreflood virus is a key-logging program that allows cyber thieves to steal personal and financial information by recording unsuspecting users’ every keystroke.

A computer can become infected by the Coreflood virus by simply opening an innocent appearing but malicious attachment. Once infected, thieves control the virus through remote servers.

“Botnets and the cyber criminals who deploy them jeopardize the economic security of the United States and the dependability of the nation's information infrastructure,” said Shawn Henry, executive assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch. “These actions to mitigate the threat posed by the Coreflood botnet are the first of their kind in the United States,” Henry noted, “and reflect our commitment to being creative and proactive in making the Internet more secure.” (FBI Story: Botnet operation disabled-April 2011)

Once the botnet network was disabled, the thieves are no longer able to retrieve data from the infected computers, however, the computers are still infected. Normally most users will not be able to tell if their computer is infected so the FBI advises the following steps be taken or make certain one’s computer is properly protected. The Coreflood virus only infects Microsoft Windows based computers.

(1) Make sure your Microsoft Windows Automatic Updates are turned on.

(2) Make sure your anti-virus is up to date, and run a scan of your hard drive.

(3) Run a security firewall on your computer.

(4) Check your online banking and credit history to make sure you have not been compromised. If you have been compromised, contact your financial institution.

To learn more about what you can do to protect your computer, including how to download and receive updates on security vulnerabilities, go to the following sites operated by U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) and the Federal Trade Commission, respectively: us-cert.gov/nav/nt01 and onguardonline.gov/topics/malware.aspx.

The FBI began their Coreflood investigation in April 2009 when a Connecticut based operation discovered that hundreds of their network computers had been compromised. And before the FBI was able to disable the botnet operation, they were able to make numerous transfers costing the companies many thousands of dollars.

On April 13, 2011, the FBI filed a civil complaint against 13 “John Doe” defendants, alleging that they engaged in wire fraud, bank fraud, and illegal interception of electronic communications. Search warrants were obtained for the command and control servers in Arizona, Georgia, Texas, Ohio, and California. And a seizure warrant was issued in Connecticut for 29 Internet domain names used by the thieves.

Article submitted Saturday, April 16, 2011 & read 43 times.

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