Law enforcement officers could not forgive Lefterov for infecting tens of thousands of American computers.
In the United States, an indictment was filed against a Moldovan citizen, Alexander Lefterov, who is the owner of a large botnet network that infected thousands of computers across the country. Lefterov, also known by the pseudonyms Alipako, Uptime, and Alipatime, is charged with Internet fraud, computer fraud, and conspiracy to commit these crimes. On April 17, representatives of the FBI officially announced that the man was put on the wanted list.
According to the US Department of Justice, the man and his accomplices used malware to steal credentials from infected devices. Attackers gained access to victims financial accounts using web browsers on infected computers, which allowed them to conduct operations disguised as legitimate users.
A special feature of the botnet was the use of a hidden virtual network computing (hVNC) server, which gave direct access to the victims computers without their knowledge. Through this server, Lefterov and his associates not only stole money, but also provided access to the botnet to other cybercriminals to distribute malware, including ransomware.
In addition, Lefterov allegedly rented the botnet to other criminals, giving them access to infected computers and stolen credentials. From such operations, of course, he received a certain percentage of the tenants profits.
The charges against Lefterov include unauthorized access to secure computers, conducting fraudulent transactions using the Internet, and intentionally damaging protected computers.
If a cybercriminal is caught, depending on the severity of the proven crimes, he can face from 2 to 10 years in prison.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojack said: "Protecting Americans in cyberspace is a top priority. We will resolutely pursue anyone who sees our people as easy prey, whether they are inside or outside the United States."
In the United States, an indictment was filed against a Moldovan citizen, Alexander Lefterov, who is the owner of a large botnet network that infected thousands of computers across the country. Lefterov, also known by the pseudonyms Alipako, Uptime, and Alipatime, is charged with Internet fraud, computer fraud, and conspiracy to commit these crimes. On April 17, representatives of the FBI officially announced that the man was put on the wanted list.
According to the US Department of Justice, the man and his accomplices used malware to steal credentials from infected devices. Attackers gained access to victims financial accounts using web browsers on infected computers, which allowed them to conduct operations disguised as legitimate users.
A special feature of the botnet was the use of a hidden virtual network computing (hVNC) server, which gave direct access to the victims computers without their knowledge. Through this server, Lefterov and his associates not only stole money, but also provided access to the botnet to other cybercriminals to distribute malware, including ransomware.
In addition, Lefterov allegedly rented the botnet to other criminals, giving them access to infected computers and stolen credentials. From such operations, of course, he received a certain percentage of the tenants profits.
The charges against Lefterov include unauthorized access to secure computers, conducting fraudulent transactions using the Internet, and intentionally damaging protected computers.
If a cybercriminal is caught, depending on the severity of the proven crimes, he can face from 2 to 10 years in prison.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojack said: "Protecting Americans in cyberspace is a top priority. We will resolutely pursue anyone who sees our people as easy prey, whether they are inside or outside the United States."
