400,000 Windows computers hacked for profit
If a 20-year-old can do this on his own, just imagine what a large-scale criminal spamming scheme is probably doing right now. Scary, isn't it?
FBI agents arrested a 20-year-old Los Angeles man (or rather, boy) Thursday on charges that he cracked some 400,000 Windows machines and covertly installed pop-up-generating adware on them, in a scheme that allegedly brought in $60,000 in ill-gotten profits.
He began in November 2004, when he used a botnet of 26,975 computers to make about $4,000 through Gammacash affiliate program, and another 8,744 compromised hosts to pull in $1,300 from LOUDcash. He continued cashing checks in the low four figures every few weeks, ultimately earning $58,357.86 from the scheme, according to the indictment.
More...
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,69480,00.html?tw=wn_2techhead
2003 Guide to Computer and Internet Crimes and Cybercrime: Hacking, Intellectual Property Crimes, Policy, Cases, Guidance, Laws, Documents, Web Crimes, Targets (Core Federal Information Series CD-ROM)
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