A US court has recently unsealed a restraining order against a gang of alleged cybercrooks operating outside the country, based on a formal legal complaint from internet giant Google. Google had collected evidence that the cybergang, known loosely as the CryptBot crew, were running “pay-per-install” services for allegedly malicious software bundles that injected malware onto victims’ computers, and were operating a botnet to steal, collect and collate personal data from hundreds of thousands of victims in the US. The court concluded that Google had shown “a likelihood of success” in respect of charges including violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, trademark rules, and racketeering laws. The court order authorises Google to identify network providers whose services make this criminality possible, and to “request” that those persons and entities take reasonable best efforts to stop the malware and the data theft in its tracks. This includes blocking network traffic that is known to be going to or coming from domains associated with the CryptBot crew.
To reduce risk of zombie malware compromise, people should stay away from sites offering unofficial downloads of popular software, be wary of assuming the first result from a search engine is the official site for any product, consider running real-time malware blocking tools, and never be tempted to go for a pirated or cracked program.
Key Points:
• A US court has recently unsealed a restraining order against a gang of alleged cybercrooks based on a formal legal complaint from Google.
• The court concluded that Google had shown “a likelihood of success” in respect of charges including violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, trademark rules, and racketeering laws.
• The court order authorises Google to identify network providers whose services make this criminality possible, and to “request” that those persons and entities take reasonable best efforts to stop the malware and the data theft in its tracks.
• To reduce risk of zombie malware compromise, people should stay away from sites offering unofficial downloads of popular software, be wary of assuming the first result from a search engine is the official site for any product, consider running real-time malware blocking tools, and never be tempted to go for a pirated or cracked program.