U.S. to dismantle Kelihos spam botnet after Russian programmer arrested

Image: UPI

April 11 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Justice said it has launched an effort to dismantle the Kelihos botnet criminal internet network after the arrest of Russian programmer Pyotr Yuryevich Levashov.

Spanish authorities in Barcelona arrested Levashov over the weekend. The Justice Department alleges Levashov has operated Kelihos, which infects computers Microsoft’s Windows operating system, since 2010.

The Justice Deparment said Kelihos is a “global network of tens of thousands of infected computers under the control of a cybercriminal that was used to facilitate malicious activities including harvesting login credentials, distributing hundreds of millions of spam emails, and installing ransomware and other malicious software.”

Levashov’s wife, Maria, said her husband’s arrest is linked to allegations by the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered with the U.S. election to possibly aid Donald Trump in his defeat of Hillary Clinton.

Maria Levashov told RT late Sunday that Spanish authorities arrested her husband “at the request of the American authorities in connection with cyber crime” over “a virus which appears to have been created by my husband … linked to Trump’s victory.”

She said the 36-year-old St. Petersburg resident was arrested while the couple was vacationing in Barcelona with their son.

“The operation announced today targeted an ongoing international scheme that was distributing hundreds of millions of fraudulent emails per year, intercepting the credentials to online and financial accounts belonging to thousands of Americans, and spreading ransomware throughout our networks,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco said in a statement.

“The ability of botnets like Kelihos to be weaponized quickly for vast and varied types of harms is a dangerous and deep threat to all Americans, driving at the core of how we communicate, network, earn a living, and live our everyday lives.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here