[Infowarrior] - Botnet Operator Pleads Guilty

[Richard Forno]

(c/o dissent)

Botnet Operator Pleads Guilty
Fri, 2008-03-14
http://www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/9388

Robert Matthew Bentley, 21, Panama City, Florida, has plead guilty to
conspiracy to commit computer fraud and computer fraud.

Bentley was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pensacola, Florida in
November 2007. The case originated in December 2006 when the London
Metropolitan Police (³The Met²) Computer Crime Unit requested assistance
from the United States Secret Service after European representatives of
the United States-based ³Newell Rubbermaid² Corporation and at least one
other European-based company contacted The Met to report a computer
intrusion against the companies¹ European networks. The indictment
resulted from a multi-year criminal investigation by the United States
Secret Service, primarily involving the London (England) Resident Office,
the Paris (France) Field Office, the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) Field
Office, the Seattle (Washington) Field Office, the Jacksonville (Florida)
Field Office, the Tallahassee (Florida) Resident Office, the Panama City
(Florida) Field Office, the Santa Ana (California) Resident Office, the
Los Angeles (California) Field Office, the Wilmington (Delaware) Field
Office, and the CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon (Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania). Secret Service worked the investigation together with the
Finland National Bureau of Investigation, the London Metropolitan Police,
the Westminster (California) Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) Field Office.

Bentley agreed to a detailed factual summary filed at the time of his
guilty plea outlining his role in the computer intrusions. Bentley and
other unnamed co-conspirators infected hundreds of computers in Europe
with ³adware² that cost tens of thousands of dollars to detect and
neutralize. Bentley and others received payment through a Western
European-based operation called ³Dollar Revenue² for unauthorized
intrusions and placement of the adware. Bentley used computers in the
Northern District of Florida to accomplish the intrusions and to receive
payment.

United States Attorney Miller observed, ³The identification, indictment,
and conviction of Bentley constitutes a significant success in a complex
international investigation, and resulted from the outstanding cooperation
of the many participating law enforcement agencies. The use of ³botnets²‹a
series of computers covertly controlled by Bentley and his co-conspirators
to accomplish the intrusion of victim computer systems‹is a major focus of
computer-related criminal investigations worldwide. Botnets are
responsible for much of the malicious activity conducted on the internet.
³Botherders² or ³Botmasters² operate within a group of computer hackers on
a global scale, making this computer crime one of the most pervasive forms
of organized criminal activity plaguing law enforcers in this country and
abroad.²

Bentley is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge
Richard Smoak on May 28, 2008. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years
imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release for each
charge. He must pay a special monetary assessment of $100 for each charge.