The world’s most popular search engine Google has won a legal battle against three Russian nationals linked to the operation of the blockchain-based botnet called Glupteba.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has ordered three involved Russians and a Ukrainian to pay $9.1 million for developing and operating a botnet to steal user information.
The four defendants were charged with conspiracy, money laundering, computer fraud, and abuse. They were also ordered to pay restitution of $567,000 to the victims.
Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said, “This case sends a message that we will use the full force of the law to punish those who develop and operate botnets.
The Glupteba botnet was first identified in 2012 and was used to steal login credentials and sensitive information from infected computers. It is also illicitly used to generate fake traffic to generate advertising revenue.Â
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