May 29, 2024 at 09:54AM
The US Treasury Department sanctioned three Chinese individuals and Thailand-based companies for operating the 911 S5 botnet. Wang, the primary administrator, and Liu, responsible for laundering money, were targeted along with companies allegedly linked to Wang. The botnet facilitated cybercrime, proxying internet connections for illegal activities, resulting in the loss of billions to the US government.
Based on the meeting notes, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions against three Chinese nationals and three Thailand-based companies for their involvement in operating a botnet called 911 S5. The individuals, Yunhe Wang, Jingping Liu, and Yanni Zheng, were accused of various roles in the operation, including administration, money laundering, and acting as power of attorney. The botnet was used for illegal activities such as proxying internet connections through compromised devices, conducting payment card fraud, making bomb threats, and submitting fraudulent applications related to government programs, resulting in significant financial losses. The botnet compromised approximately 19 million IP addresses and was shut down after cybercrime blogger Brian Krebs identified Wang as the owner or manager. The botnet later reemerged as Cloud Router. These sanctions come after previous actions by the Treasury Department against other cyber threats and attacks linked to various countries.