From: "Rich Gauszka" 

Operation Bot Roast?

http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel07/botnet061307.htm

For Immediate Release
June 13, 2007


    Washington D.C.
    FBI National Press Office
    (202) 324-3691

Over 1 Million Potential Victims of Botnet Cyber Crime

Today the Department of Justice and FBI announced the results of an ongoing
cyber crime initiative to disrupt and dismantle "botherders" and
elevate the public's cyber security awareness of botnets. OPERATION BOT
ROAST is a national initiative and ongoing investigations have identified
over 1 million victim computer IP addresses. The FBI is working with our
industry partners, including the CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie
Mellon University, to notify the victim owners of the computers. Through
this process the FBI may uncover additional incidents in which botnets have
been used to facilitate other criminal activity.

A botnet is a collection of compromised computers under the remote command
and control of a criminal "botherder." Most owners of the
compromised computers are unknowing and unwitting victims. They have
unintentionally allowed unauthorized access and use of their computers as a
vehicle to facilitate other crimes, such as identity theft, denial of
service attacks, phishing, click fraud, and the mass distribution of spam
and spyware. Because of their widely distributed capabilities, botnets are
a growing threat to national security, the national information
infrastructure, and the economy.

"The majority of victims are not even aware that their computer has
been compromised or their personal information exploited," said FBI
Assistant Director for the Cyber Division James Finch. "An attacker
gains control by infecting the computer with a virus or other malicious
code and the computer continues to operate normally. Citizens can protect
themselves from botnets and the associated schemes by practicing strong
computer security habits to reduce the risk that your computer will be
compromised."

The FBI also wants to thank our industry partners, such as the Microsoft
Corporation and the Botnet Task Force, in referring criminal botnet
activity to law enforcement.

Cyber security tips include updating anti-virus software, installing a
firewall, using strong passwords, practicing good email and web security
practices. Although this will not necessarily identify or remove a botnet
currently on the system, this can help to prevent future botnet attacks.
More information on botnets and tips for cyber crime prevention can be
found online at www.fbi.gov.

The FBI will not contact you online and request your personal information
so be wary of fraud schemes that request this type of information,
especially via unsolicited emails. To report fraudulent activity or
financial scams, contact the nearest FBI office or police department, and
file a complaint online with the Internet Crime Complaint Center,
www.ic3.gov.

To date, the following subjects have been charged or arrested in this
operation with computer fraud and abuse in violation of Title 18 USC 1030,
including:

    * James C. Brewer of Arlington, Texas, is alleged to have operated a
botnet that infected Chicago area hospitals. This botnet infected tens of
thousands of computers worldwide. (FBI Chicago);

    * Jason Michael Downey of Covington, Kentucky, is charged with an
Information with using botnets to send a high volume of traffic to intended
recipients to cause damage by impairing the availability of such systems.
(FBI Detroit); and

    * Robert Alan Soloway of Seattle, Washington, is alleged to have used a
large botnet network and spammed tens of millions of unsolicited email
messages to advertise his website from which he offered services and
products. (FBI Seattle)

The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate individuals that conduct
cyber criminal acts.

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