US "Botmaster" admits infecting 250,000 computers
A Los Angeles man on Friday admitted infecting 250,000 computers and
stealing the identities of thousands of people by wiretapping their
communications and accessing their bank accounts.
John Schiefer, 26, agreed to plead guilty to four counts of fraud and
wiretap charges that could lead to a $1.75 million fine and send him to
prison for up to 60 years, the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney's office said.
Prosecutors said Schiefer and an unspecified number of conspirators
installed malicious computer codes that acted as a wiretap on
compromised computers and intercepted messages to www.paypal.com and
similar Web sites. He retrieved usernames and passwords and used them to
access an unknown number of bank accounts. Prosecutors said they were
still investigating how much money was stolen and the number of victims.
They said Schiefer worked by day as an information security
consultant but was a well-known "Botmaster" among the underground
network of hackers skilled in so-called "botnet attacks." |