Image source, Getty Images
- author, Tom Gerken
- role, Technology reporter
-
The United States and Europe have each announced major takedowns of cybercrime networks that have stolen billions of dollars.
The United States arrested Chinese national Wang Yunhe and seized his assets, including a Ferrari, luxury watches and 21 properties.
Europol, the European crime agency, said it had arrested four people but that eight others remained at large and would be added to Europe’s most wanted list.
Both the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and Europol claimed their investigations were the world’s largest “botnet” bust.
Cybercriminals use so-called botnets to take over people’s computers and install malicious software.
This software can be used to collect data from computers without the owner’s knowledge, send spam, or delete personal data.
Scams and bomb threats
The Justice Department said Wang is accused of using a botnet to hack more than 19 million devices in about 200 countries.
“Wang created malware that compromised millions of home computers around the world, then sold access to the infected computers to cybercriminals,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Nicole Argentieri.
She said criminals use this access to hide their identities and “commit a variety of crimes anonymously,” including fraud, child exploitation, harassment and even bomb threats.
It is also estimated that more than 500,000 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims were sent from computers under his control, causing losses of more than $5.9bn (£4.6bn).
The Justice Department accused Wang of using the proceeds to buy luxury goods worth $60 million, and announced that it had seized a Ferrari, a Rolls-Royce, two BMWs, several watches, as well as bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets.
He also bought properties in the United States, St. Kitts and Nevis, China, Singapore, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
Among the organisations cooperating in the investigation were law enforcement agencies in Singapore and Thailand, as well as technology giant Microsoft.
Wang was charged with computer fraud conspiracy, substantive computer fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Europe’s most sought after
Meanwhile, Europol announced the arrest of the masterminds of several cybercrime networks that used botnets.
It has made arrests in Armenia and Ukraine and taken down servers around the world, including in the UK, US and Germany.
Currently, over 2,000 websites are under the control of European law enforcement agencies.
Europol said one of the main perpetrators made more than 69 million euros (£58 million) in cryptocurrency by installing ransomware, software that locks out computers unless a fee is paid.
In addition, eight fugitives wanted in Germany for cybercrime will be added to Europe’s most wanted list.
The malicious software primarily got onto people’s devices through phishing scams (such as emails encouraging people not to click) and compromised websites.
Europol said the operation, dubbed “Operation Endgame”, is ongoing and that more raids are planned.
