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Gameover Zeus Botnet Disrupted, Ransomware Seized
A US-led operation has disrupted the Gameover Zeus botnet, a global network of infected computers used by cyber criminals to steal millions of dollars from businesses and consumers.
According to the US Attorney’s office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the botnet administrator, who has not been named, was charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse. The operation also seized computer servers central to the malicious software known as Cryptolocker, a form of ransomware that encrypts files on victims’ computers until they pay a ransom.
Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole described the operation as a success in disrupting a global botnet that had stolen millions of dollars from businesses and consumers, as well as a complex ransomware scheme that secretly encrypted hard drives and demanded payments for access to victims’ files and data.
The operation was a result of a collaborative effort between US and foreign law enforcement officials, as well as private industry experts. ‘These schemes were highly sophisticated and immensely lucrative, and the cyber criminals did not make them easy to reach or disrupt,’ said Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell. ‘But under the leadership of the Justice Department, US law enforcement, foreign partners in more than 10 different countries and numerous private sector partners joined together to disrupt both these schemes.’
FBI Executive Assistant Director Robert Anderson Jr. described Gameover Zeus as the most sophisticated botnet the FBI and its allies had ever attempted to disrupt. ‘The efforts announced today are a direct result of the effective relationships we have with our partners in the private sector, international law enforcement, and within the US government,’ he said.
Victims of Gameover Zeus may use the following website created by DHS’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) for assistance in removing the malware: https://www.us-cert.gov/gameoverzeus
The operation is a significant blow to cybercrime, and demonstrates the importance of international cooperation in fighting this type of crime. ‘The borderless, insidious nature of computer hacking and cybertheft requires us to be bold and imaginative,’ said US Attorney David J. Hickton. ‘We take this action on behalf of hundreds of thousands of computer users who were unwittingly infected and victimized.’
Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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