Remember our cautionary tale 'Zombie Computers From Planet Earth' from last month? We knew it would move from cautionary tale to documented disaster. But, we never expected this...
"Security Consultant Admits to Hijacking PCs to Use in Crimes"
Los Angeles Times
A Los Angeles man entrusted with making personal computers safer has admitted to hacking into them to create a rogue network of as many as a quarter-million PCs, which he used to steal money and identities.
Federal prosecutors Friday said that John Kenneth Schiefer, a 26-year-old computer security consultant, used an army of hijacked computers, known as a "botnet," to carry out a variety of schemes to rip off unsuspecting consumers and corporations.
Schiefer agreed to plead guilty to four felony charges in connection with the case and faces up to 60 years in prison and a $1.75-million fine, according to court documents filed Friday in federal court in Los Angeles.
Schiefer, who on the Internet went by the handles "acidstorm," "acid" and "storm," is the first person to be accused under federal wiretapping law of operating a botnet, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Mark Krause in Los Angeles.
In all, the federal indictment includes four counts of accessing protected computers to commit fraud, disclosing illegally intercepted electronic communications, wire fraud and bank fraud. Federal authorities said they were still trying to identify victims and the scope of their losses. (more)
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