The Department of Justice has Successfully Dismantled the Massive 911 S5 Botnet
Breaking News: The 911 S5 Botnet Taken Down by the Justice Department
An extensive botnet has been eliminated by the US Justice Department:
As per an unsealed indictment on May 24, Wang and his associates allegedly developed and spread malware to infiltrate and control a network of millions of private Windows computers globally from 2014 to July 2022. These machines were linked to over 19 million distinct IP addresses, including 613,841 in the United States. Wang profited by providing cybercriminals with access to these infected IP addresses for a charge.
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This initiative was a well-coordinated joint operation led by law enforcement agencies from the United States, Singapore, Thailand, and Germany. Officers and agents conducted searches at various locations, seized assets worth around $30 million, and identified additional forfeitable assets valued at approximately $30 million. The operation also confiscated 23 domains and more than 70 servers that formed the infrastructure of Wang’s previous residential proxy service and its recent iteration. By taking control of multiple domains connected to the historical 911 S5, as well as numerous new domains and services correlated with an attempt to revive the service, the government has effectively put an end to Wang’s activities aimed at victimizing individuals through his newly established service, Clourouter.io, and shutting down existing malicious entry points.
The individual behind the botnet, YunHe Wang, was apprehended in Singapore.
Photograph of Bruce Schneier in the Sidebar by Joe MacInnis.
