Flashy Cars Got Spam Kingpin Mugged
Summary: A Russian spammer nicknamed Cosma2k, suspected of running the Rustock botnet and named among SpamIt's top five earners, was gagged, tied up and beaten by thieves who stole a Porsche Cayenne 1.5 months after he bought it and later targeted him over a BMW 650. Leaked chat logs from alleged SpamIt operator Dmitry "SaintD" Stupin, published by Krebs on Security in August 2011, show Cosma saying he switched to a calmer BMW 530Xi because flashy cars drew robbers, while Microsoft has offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to the Rustock author's arrest and conviction.
Why it matters: The operator behind one of the world's largest spam botnets was undone not by law enforcement but by street thieves who noticed his cars, and the only formal bounty on him is Microsoft's $250,000 - a figure the article's commenters call trivial next to what spammers earn.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
- Topics
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