A Closer Look at Two Bigtime Botmasters
Summary: KrebsOnSecurity published private Spamdot.biz messages from May 2010 in which the Rustock botmaster 'Tarelka' and 'Severa' - identified by Spamhaus as Peter Levashov - address each other as 'Dimas' and 'Petka' and discuss pump-and-dump stock spam, a mutual contact named John, and nightclubs in St. Petersburg. The post notes that Tarelka claims his botnet code was sold to three buyers before Microsoft's March 2011 Rustock takedown, that Microsoft offered a $250,000 reward in July 2011, and that both men remained free and active.
What's compelling: Microsoft put $250,000 on the table for Rustock's operators, and by the time this was written both named men were still at large and working - a reminder that takedowns remove infrastructure, not the people who build it.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
- Topics
- Malware
- Related
- ARTEX and beyond: AI-enabled penetration testing platforms Cyber Risks · Nov 13, 2026Fake GTA 6 download goes after Steam logins and crypto wallet data Cyber Risks · Nov 13, 2026Operation Endgame Takes Down Gootloader, CastleRAT and StealC Servers, Seizes 6.4M Stolen Logins Cyber Risks · Nov 13, 2026