Friday, December 10, 2010

Creator of Mega-D botnet delivered 10 billion junk mail e-mails a day

Nikolaenko was busted in LV in November as the alleged spammer accountable for the Mega-D botnet. Friday Nikolaenko was arraigned in Milwaukee. He was charged with being accountable for almost a 3rd of the junk mail generated worldwide when he was in top form. The 23-year-old Russian is pleading not guilty.

Mega-D botnet accountable for thirty-two percent of junk mail

At its peak, the Mega-D botnet sent out ten billion junk mail e-mails each day — 32 % of the planet’s spam, based on the FBI. More than 500,000 computers are infected and controlled by Nikolaenko who utilizes Mega-D spambot. Ever received an e-mail for fake prescription drugs like Viagra, bogus herbal male enhancement products or fake Rolex watches? Well then it probably came from Mega-D botnet. After a three-year investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation caught up with Nikolaenko Nov. 4 in Las Vegas, where he was going to from Russia to attend an auto show. A $250,000 fine and 3 year prison sentence are what the Mega-D botnet creator will likely be facing.

Discovering Nikolaenko was hard

Oleg Nikolaenko got rich with the Mega-D spambot. FBI affidavits and court documents show he made almost a half million dollars during a six-month period in 2007. In 2009 Nikolaenko narrowly escaped arrest when an online security firm attacked the command and control system for the Mega-D botnet. But Nikolaenko slipped away to Russia, fixed the malware and soon the junk mail flowed freely once again. The Mega-D botnet mogul was caught by the FBI. The FBI had help from Australian and New Zealand investigators, private security businesses and even the Federal Trade Commission.

Discovering out who Mega-D spammer is via Google

A fake Rolex dealer using Mega-D botnet was arrested which led the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Nikolaenko. Authorities were given details then in order to follow a path that lead to Nikolaenko's Gmail address due to a cash transfer. Google was legally bound to submit account information that detailed Nikolaenko’s spamming. He has a quite good lawyer. The lawyer said a "rigorous defense" is coming.

Details from

CNN

news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/03/man-allegedly-responsible-for-a-third-of-your-spam-e-mail-to-be-arraigned/?npt=NP1

Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704377004575651232273336218.html

Digital Trends

digitaltrends.com/computing/man-behind-a-third-of-the-worlds-spam-heading-to-court/?news=123



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