The Guardia Civil, in collaboration with the FBI, have arrested three Spaniards who controlled more than 13 million computers as part of the largest detected networks of ‘botnets’ in the world.
The infected computers spanned 190 countries and at the home of one of the detainees, police found the details, such as IP addresses etc, of over 800,000 individuals.
The botnets are used to infect other computers and obtain such information as bank details, these then being sold or the botnets rented out to fraudsters.
The three detainees are 31 year old FCR from Blamaseda, Vizcaya (user names ‘Netkairo’ and ‘Hamlet1917’, 25 year old JBR from Santiago de Compostela (user name ‘Ostiator’) and 30 year old JPR from Molina de Segura, Murcia (user name ‘Johnny Loleante’).