Charges Against Chinese National for Massive Botnet Operation
Overview of the Case
The United States Department of Justice has charged Yunhe Wang, a 35-year-old Chinese national, for allegedly operating a massive botnet known as “911 S5.” This botnet was used to steal pandemic relief funds by posing as unemployed US citizens.
Details of the Indictment
According to an indictment, Wang’s botnet provided a persistent backdoor for his customers, allowing them to disguise themselves as victims of the malware. The 911 S5 Botnet, which launched as early as 2014, infected computers in nearly 200 countries.
“The 911 S5 Botnet infected computers in nearly 200 countries and facilitated a whole host of computer-enabled crimes, including financial frauds, identity theft, and child exploitation,”
says FBI director Christopher Wray, describing it as “likely the world’s largest botnet ever.”
Sanctions and Scope of the Botnet
The US Treasury Department has also sanctioned Wang and two other individuals allegedly tied to 911 S5. Wang reportedly had access to nearly 614,000 IP addresses in the US and over 18 million worldwide, allowing customers to choose their geographical location down to a specific US zip code.
Infrastructure and Criminal Activities
The indictment reveals that 76 of the 150 dedicated servers used to manage the botnet were leased by US-based service providers. These servers hosted the client interface for 911 S5, enabling criminals to purchase goods with stolen credit cards and circumvent US export laws.
Impact on Pandemic Relief Programs
More than half a million fraudulent claims tied to pandemic relief programs in the US are allegedly connected to 911 S5. The botnet has been linked to nearly $6 billion in losses and other serious crimes, including bomb threats and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) trafficking.
“Proxy services like 911 S5 are pervasive threats that shield criminals behind the compromised IP addresses of residential computers worldwide,”
says Damien Diggs, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Texas.
“These criminals used the hijacked computers to conceal their identities and commit a host of crimes, from fraud to cyberstalking.”
adds Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
International Collaboration and Arrest
Law enforcement agencies in Singapore, Thailand, and Germany collaborated with US authorities to arrest Wang. He faces charges of conspiracy, computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to money laundering, with a maximum penalty of 65 years in prison.
Seizure of Assets
The US is also seeking to seize luxury items allegedly owned by Wang, including a 2022 Ferrari Spider valued at roughly half a million dollars and a Patek Philippe watch worth potentially several times that amount.
1 Comment
Can you believe they still haven’t caught all the perpetrators of the largest botnet ever?