NZ Teen Arrested as 'Spybot Mastermind'

Josh Fink writes "The Guardian has an interesting piece on 'Akill', a teenager from New Zealand who was the ringleader of a hacking ring. The economic impact of the ring may have totaled £9.7m. 'The teenager was the "head of an international spybot ring that has infiltrated computers around the world with their malicious software', Martin Kleintjes told New Zealand national radio ... The FBI estimates that more than 1m computers have been infected, and puts the combined economic losses at more than $20m (£9.7m).' Eight people have been charged, pleaded guilty or have been convicted since June. The FBI really has been putting a crackdown on botnets / spyware recently."

Comments

Stupid teenagers

[BadAnalogyGuy]

Teenagers haven't got a whit of sense in the first place. They wouldn't know how to gracefully take criticism if it were slathered in Vaseline and shoved up their urethra and lodged in their bladder.

Just look how fast this well-meaning post gets modded down by those imbecile teenage moderators.

Yoohoo!!!

[courteaudotbiz]

We finally won't have to deal with malware anymore! The guy has been arrested!

Re:Yoohoo!!!

[m4ximusprim3]

so you're saying we should kill him and shove his body into the tubes?

Re:Yoohoo!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Yet when somebody does the same thing and leaves a dead farmer lying around to warn the others against killing innocent creatures, they all get upset... bunch of pussies.

Re:They hate competition

[Nextraztus]

And hence, this perpetrator will get the good cop/bad cop/job recruitment officer.

Cut the head off?

[Caption Wierd]

When the "mastermind" is arrested, does a botnet die or continue some sort of pointless frankenstenian existence?

Re:Cut the head off?

[BadAnalogyGuy]

When the "mastermind" is arrested, does a botnet die or continue some sort of pointless frankenstenian existence?

It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

I could be worse....

[iknownuttin]

if it were the RI/MPAA, it would have said 20 billion.

infected computers ..

[rs232]

"The FBI estimates that more than 1m computers have been infected"

What Operating System did these computers run on and is it possible to make a 'computer' that don't get infected by clicking on a URL or opening an attachment.

and then

[darthflo]

and then

The teenager is said to have infiltrated top secret government networks throughout the universe. "He created both Linux and Windows in the lunch breaks of his freshman year in college and plans to take over control of the world after finishing his PhD next year", Kleintjes said.

I, for one, ph34r our new NZ script kiddie overlords.

Re:They hate competition

[Rob the Bold]

"FBI" is singular, not plural.

The Queen's English seems to mandate the use of the plural when referring to ourganizatiouns. Kind ouf like the extra 'U's in wourds like "Coummounwealth".