Associated Press | Authorities have smashed one of the world’s biggest networks of
virus-infected computers. It was a data vacuum that stole credit cards
and online banking credentials from as many as 12.7 million poisoned
PCs.
The “botnet” of infected computers included PCs inside more than half
of the Fortune 1,000 companies. More than 40 major banks were
infiltrated, according to investigators.
Spanish investigators, working with private computer-security firms, have arrested the three alleged ringleaders of the so-called Mariposa botnet, which appeared in December 2008 and grew into one of the biggest weapons of cybercrime.
More arrests are expected soon in other countries. That is unusual – the masterminds behind the biggest botnets aren’t often taken down.
Nothing will stop these guys- there will always be electronics when they get out of prison. People who cause this much damage should get the death penalty. I would say life in prison but everyone knows those jokers get out after 10-15 years.
Castration for sex offenders and lobotomy for cybercrime masterminds.
qule: and cutting off the hands of thieves, right?
Sounds like you might be happier if you moved to Saudi Arabia.
Paul: 2:10 PM A slap on the hands is punishment enough, right?
O c’mmon,
This much damage done to everyone, Lets keep with the status quo and give these guys a boatload of taxpayer dollars. Our system rewards white collar crime.
Ah, the joys of suffering with Windows garbage. Thanks goodness we upgraded to a Mac two years ago!
the guys going to jail should be Microsoft executives for tolerating sloppy security on their operating systems.
Wait till these guys turn their attention to the Macs. THEN you’ll hear some screaming.
Liz: do you *really* think that your Mac isn’t vulnerable to viruses, spyware, malware, trojans or hacking? If you look at security forums, as opposed to Mac circle-jerk sites, you’d quickly find out that not only are they vulnerable, but that their vulnerability is compounded by the failure of most Mac owners to take even minimal security precautions, like installing basic anti-viral software.
After hearing about things like this, I start to think that perhaps we need some sort of equivalency between violent crimes and financial crimes. Say, steal $10K, same penalty as armed robbery. Steal $1B (Enron execs), same as felony murder (i.e., potential death penalty). When you start talking about really large sums of money, there’s no way the criminals involved will ever be able to repay their debt to society, so perhaps they should be permanently removed from said society.
I’ve read a few blogposts recently on this subject, well written post this one.
as usual the discussion quickly develops into extremes; either kill em or slap their hand; hey America, do ya know their is more possibilities than polarizing extreme opposites? (i’m an American by the way).
how bout these crazy ideas:
if they are low level cyber criminals, offer them a deal if they can turn in other cyber criminals. reduced sentence for narc-ing on the other scum, and the more they help bust, the less the sentence. this way, they eat their own, reduce total number of cyber threats, and bust more and more daily.
for the super smart hackers; ok, this is going to sound bizarre, but i dont care; hire them, their great knowledge of how to do the nasty unthinkable in cyber land could be turned into a huge service to fight cyber crime. they should be working to end th crimes, and if they created such great hacking software, they should be very knowlgdeable of whom is doing what out there now, and perhaps know how to stop or thwart future attacks.
just my two cents.
I have to say that I love Windows 7. That OS runs very smooth. Even the 64 bit version runs smooth. When Windows Vista came out a lot of programs wasn’t adapted yet for 64bit. Even though 64bit was allready there when XP was the king. Now most software has a 64bit version. Games also run better on Windows 7. It’s almost like playing on XP. Nice work from MS after problem Vista. And best of all, you don’t need a high end system.
I have to say that I love Windows 7. That OS runs very smooth. Even the 64 bit version runs smooth. When Windows Vista came out a lot of software wasn’t adapted yet for 64bit. Even though 64bit was allready there when XP was the king. Now most software has a 64bit version. Games also run better on Windows 7. It’s almost like gaming on XP. Nice work from MS after problem Vista. And best of all, you don’t need a high end pc.