November 15, 2023 at 08:58AM
The US government has taken down the IPStorm botnet and arrested the man responsible for its operation. The botnet distributed malware to thousands of devices worldwide, allowing cybercriminals to use them for a proxy service. The guilty party, Sergei Makinin, faces up to 10 years in prison and has agreed to forfeit the cryptocurrency he earned. The FBI dismantled the infrastructure but did not clean up compromised devices. The IPStorm malware utilized the InterPlanetary File System network, making it harder to detect and disrupt.
Meeting Notes Summary:
– The US government announced the takedown of the IPStorm botnet and the guilty plea of Sergei Makinin, the creator and operator of the cybercrime service.
– The FBI dismantled the IPStorm malware infrastructure and the proxy network associated with it.
– The malware infected various devices worldwide, allowing cybercriminals to use them for a proxy service.
– Cybercriminals paid hundreds of dollars per month to use the IPStorm-infected devices for hiding their online activities.
– Makinin, a Russian and Moldovan national, pleaded guilty to three counts of transmitting a program causing damage to protected computers and faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.
– He has agreed to forfeit the cryptocurrency he earned, amounting to at least $550,000.
– The FBI did not identify impacted users or perform a cleanup of compromised devices this time, unlike previous takedowns.
– The IPStorm malware used the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) peer-to-peer network, making it more difficult to detect malicious traffic and disrupt the botnet.
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