US Department of Justice arrested 35-year-old Chinese citizen Yunhe Wang in an international operation. Wang has been operating a botnet called 911 S5, believed to be the world’s largest, providing access to criminal organizations for about ten years. This network infects millions of computers worldwide with malicious software in approximately 200 countries and facilitates crimes such as identity theft, child abuse, and fraud.
29 Million Dollars Worth of Cryptocurrency Seized
The operation was carried out on May 24 in Singapore and searches were also conducted in Thailand. Following the operation, the Department reported that significant assets, including 29 million dollars worth of cryptocurrency, were seized. It was also stated that during this period, Wang had earned at least 99 million dollars from providing access to criminal organizations.
Effects and Damages of the Botnet Network
The botnet network managed by Wang has enabled the theft of billions of dollars from a wide range of victims including financial institutions and credit card holders since 2014. The total damage caused by the criminal network is estimated to exceed 5.9 billion dollars. The network has affected 19 million Windows computers, 613,000 of which are in the US. Wang’s network management was conducted through 150 private servers, half of which are US-based, and the revenues were used to purchase numerous properties. The trial process and the sentence for Wang remain uncertain.