Brazilian Hacker Charged in US for Selling Network of 100,000 Zombie Computers

Zombie computer A federal grand jury in New Orleans has charged a Brazilian man for his role in a conspiracy to sell a network of computers infected with malicious software designed to send spam, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division and Jim Letten, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, announced Thursday, August 21.

Leni de Abreu Neto, 35, of Taubaté, in the interior of Brazil's southeastern state of São Paulo, is charged with one count of conspiracy to cause damage to computers worldwide. The indictment alleges that more than 100,000 computers worldwide were damaged.

If convicted, Abreu Neto faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and up to three years of supervised release. Neto also faces the greater of a US$ 250,000 fine or the gross amount of any pecuniary gain or the gross amount of any pecuniary loss suffered by the victims.

According to the indictment, Abreu Neto participated in a conspiracy along with others, including an unindicted co-conspirator, Nordin Nasiri, 19, of Sneek, Netherlands, to use, maintain, lease and sell an illegal botnet.

As defined in the indictment, a botnet is a network of computers that have been infected by malicious software, commonly referred to as "bot code." Bot code is typically designed to permit an operator or controller to instruct infected computers to perform various functions, without the authorization and knowledge of their owners, such as launching denial of service attacks to disable targeted computer systems or sending spam e-mail.

Installation of bot code is typically accomplished by "hacking" computers with particular security vulnerabilities. Bot code typically contains commands for infected computers to search local networks or the Internet for other computers to infect, thereby increasing the botnet's size and power.

The indictment alleges that prior to May 2008, Nasiri was responsible for creating a botnet consisting of more than 100,000 computers worldwide, and that Abreu Neto used the botnet and paid for the servers on which the botnet was hosted.

According to the indictment, between May and July 2008, the Brazilian agreed initially with Nasiri to broker a deal to lease the botnet to a third party. The indictment alleges Neto expected the botnet to be used to send spam through the infected computers. Subsequently, Abreu Neto agreed with Nasiri to broker the sale of the botnet and underlying bot code to the third party for 25,000 euros (US$ 37,165).

The Brazilian hacker was apprehended by Dutch authorities on July 29, 2008, in the Netherlands and is currently in confinement in the Netherlands pending resolution of extradition proceedings. Nasiri was also apprehended by Dutch authorities and is being prosecuted by Dutch authorities in the Netherlands.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jaikumar Ramaswamy of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, with extensive assistance from Senior Counsel Judith Friedman of the Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs.

The case is being investigated by the Cyber Squad of the FBI's New Orleans field office, with assistance from the Dutch Hi-Tech Crimes Unit and the Cyber Section of the Brazilian Federal Police.

Tags:

You May Also Like

Aquila’s Spell

To believe in the mathematic that drew them apart, she working the whole day, ...

Second-Line Drugs Put Big Burden on Brazil’s AIDS Program

The deputy director of Brazil’s Ministry of Health’s National Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS ...

Brazil Starts Pro Youth Program with US$ 115 Million

When he signed the Provisional Measure, yesterday, instituting the National Youth Inclusion Program, Brazil’s ...

Biotech Crops Are Killing Land and Life in Brazil and Latin America

Latin America is being invaded by genetically engineered (GE) crops. The promoters of these ...

For Brazil’s Gilberto Gil Every Individual Is an Institution and Piece of Art

Singer-composer Gilberto Gil was the Brazilian minister of Culture from January 2003 to July ...

Sugar and Citrus Exports Get Brazil’s Port of Santos New Record

The shipping of export products from the port of Santos, the largest in Latin ...

7% of Brazil’s Youngsters Are Heavy Alcohol Drinkers

Drug use by Brazilian youths is troublesome, but, compared with other countries, consumption is ...

Malba Tahan, The Most Famous Arab Brazil Never Had

Júlio César de Mello Souza (1895-1974), better known as Malba Tahan and author of ...

Brazil Forum, a United Effort Against the Bush Threat

The Fifth Annual World Social Forum (WSF) held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from January ...

Brazil President Goes to Washington for Summit on Global Economic Meltdown

American President, George W. Bush, invited his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ...