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Cyber Risks · Krebs on Security

Spy Eye Makers Get 24 Years in Prison

Summary: Aleksandr Andreevich Panin, a 27-year-old Russian national known as "Gribodemon" and "Harderman," was sentenced to nine years and six months for developing and selling the SpyEye botnet kit, while his business partner Hamza "Bx1" Bendelladj, a 27-year-old Algerian national, received 15 years for helping develop and market it and for running his own SpyEye botnet that harvested 200,000 credit card numbers. Atlanta Judge Amy Totenberg imposed the combined 24-year sentence for conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, with the government estimating Bendelladj's potential losses at $100 million based on an assumed $500 loss per card.

Bottom line: The government's own math puts one defendant's card haul at 200,000 numbers and $100 million in potential losses, a reminder that a single botnet operator can reach a loss figure most security budgets never see. Meanwhile Evginy Bogachev, the alleged Zeus author who supplied Panin with Zeus source code, remains at large and is the FBI's most wanted cybercriminal.

Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗

Topics
Malware
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