Cybercrime: ‘World’s largest botnet’ seized in Federal bust, Chinese national arrested. Details here

A 35-year-old Chinese national has been arrested for his role in operating a botnet that helped him swindle billions of dollars from the US Government and fund his lavish lifestyle, according to a report by ‘USA Today‘. The Department of Justice laid forward the details of the charges against YunHe Wang, a Chinese national, who was arrested for creating a vast and dangerous ‘botnet’, which signifies numerous hijacked devices, from different locations in the world.

“Accused funded lavish lifestyle with fraud money”

This vast and ever-expanding botnet network was used for cyber attacks, bomb threats, fraud, child exploitation and much more, all with the intent to rob billions of people and governments across the globe. With the massive defrauded money, Wang funded his lavish lifestyle, and purchased luxury properties and cars in different countries, according to the charges laid forward by the US Department of Justice on Wednesday.

‘911 S5’ botnet created havoc for eight years

Based on ‘USA Today’ report, it can be assessed that Wang ran a botnet named “911 S5”, routing it through around 150 servers globally for around eight years to conduct his fraudulent activities. At least 70 of these servers were leased from online service providers operating in the US. Meanwhile, the botnet, in its ‘deadly’ journey, created a rampage, infecting over 19 million IP addresses in 200 countries, claims DoJ.

Federal authorities have, according to reports, seized Wang’s residences in multiple locations along with assets worth over $30 million. The DoJ also imposed sanctions on three top-tier companies Wang owned or controlled, which were one of his fronts to circulate his immense wealth, claim reports.

FAQs:

1. What is the name of the person charged with operating the world’s largest botnet?
YunHe Wang, aged 35, has been recently charged by the Department of Justice, US, with trying to defraud the US Government of billions of dollars by operating the ‘world’s largest botnet’.

2. What was the ‘world’s largest botnet’, 911 S5 used for?
‘911 S5‘, a master plan of YunHe Wang, was used to defraud citizens and governments across the globe. The botnet was used for a variety of crimes, including, cyber-attacks, bomb threats, money fraud, and more.