Operation: Bot Roast

Operation: Bot Roast is an operation by the FBI to track down bot herders, crackers, or virus coders who install malicious software on computers through the Internet without the owners’ knowledge, which turns the computer into a zombie computer that then sends out spam to other computers from the compromised computer, making a botnet or network of bot infected computers. The operation was launched because the vast scale of botnet resources poses a threat to national security.^[1]

1 The results
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

The results

The operation was created to disrupt and disassemble bot herders. In June 2007, the FBI had identified about 1 million computers that were compromised, leading to the arrest of the persons responsible for creating the malware. In the process, owners of infected computers were notified, many of whom were unaware of the exploitation.^[1]^[2]

Some early results of the operation include charges against the following:

Robert Alan Soloway of Seattle, Washington, pleaded guilty to charges of using botnets to send tens of millions of spam messages touting his website.^[1]
James C. Brewer, (pseudonym "Sint3k"), of Arlington, Texas, is accused of infecting tens of thousands of computers worldwide, including some at Chicago-area hospitals.^[1]
Jeanson James Ancheta plead guilty to controlling thousands of infected computers.^[3]
Jason Michael Downey (pseudonym "Nessun"), founder of the IRC network Rizon, is charged with using botnets to disable other systems.^[1]
Akbot author Owen Walker (pseudonym "AKILL") of New Zealand, was tried for various crimes and discharged by the prosecution in 2008.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "OPERATION: BOT ROAST ‘Bot-herders’ Charged as Part of Initiative" (Press release). Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2007-06-13. http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2007/ june/botnet_061307. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
^ "FBI tries to fight zombie hordes" (Press release). BBC News. 2007-06-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology /6752853.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-20.
^ Dan Goodin (13 June 2007). "FBI logs its millionth zombie address". the register. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/ 13/millionth_botnet_address/. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
^ Akill pleads guilty to all charges, By Ulrika Hedquist, 1 April, 2008, Computerworld

External links

OnGuardOnline.gov - Botnets and Hackers and Spam (Oh, My!) OnGuardOnline.gov provides practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you be on guard against Internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information.
United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team ST06-001-Understanding Hidden Threats: Rootkits and Botnets

Malware

Infectious malware	Computer virus Daftar/Tabel -- computer viruses Computer worm Daftar/Tabel -- computer worms Timeline of computer viruses and worms

Concealment	Trojan horse Rootkit Backdoor Zombie computer Man-in-the-middle Man-in-the-browser Man-in-the-mobile

Malware for profit	Privacy-invasive software Adware Spyware Botnet Keystroke logging Web threats Fraudulent dialer Malbot Scareware Rogue security software Ransomware

By operating system	Linux malware Palm OS viruses Mobile virus Macro virus Macintosh (old) viruses Mac OS X malware

Protection	Antivirus software Browser security Internet security Mobile security Network security Defensive computing Firewall Intrusion detection system Data loss prevention software

Countermeasures	Computer surveillance Operation: Bot Roast Honeypot Anti-Spyware Coalition

Botnets

Notable botnets	Akbot Asprox Bagle Bredolab Cutwail Conficker Donbot Festi Grum Gumblar Kelihos Koobface Kraken Lethic Mariposa Mega-D Metulji Nitol Rustock Sality Slenfbot Srizbi Storm TDL-4 Torpig Waledac ZeroAccess Zeus

Main articles	Browser security Computer virus Computer worm DoSnet Malbot Internet security Malware Man-in-the-browser Network security Operation: Bot Roast Trojan horse

Contents

The results

See also

References

External links