Masterminds of Mariposa botnet arrested by Spanish police

13:15 4th March 2010

Spanish people have arrested three men responsible for the so-called Mariposa botnet, one of the world's biggest networks of virus-infected computers.

The investigators said that the botnet, which is understood to have been made up of almost 13 million computers in 190 countries, included PCs inside more than half of Fortune 1000 companies and more than 40 major banks.

Senior research advisor Pedro Bustamante said the criminals did not have "advanced hacking skills."

"This is very alarming because it proves how sophisticated and effective malware distribution software has become, empowering relatively unskilled cyber criminals to inflict major damage and financial loss," he was quoted as saying in the BBC.

In other news, Microsoft has been given the green light by a Virginia court to cut off 277 internet domains associated with Waledac botnet, one of the ten biggest networks of compromised computers in the US and a major source of spam and malware.

The legal and industry operation against Waledac has closed connections to the large majority of the botnet-infected computers, according to Tim Cranton, associate general counsel for Microsoft.

Written by Paul Davis

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