Botnet Master Arrested

First, some explanation of terms is in order. A "zombie" computer is one that has been taken over by malicious software, usually for the purpose of sending spam. A "botnet" is an army of zombie computers – all controlled via the same mechanism. When their "owner" (hacker) gives the command, they go to work doing his or her bidding. Botnet owners will sometime sell the use of their networks to evildoers.

Recently, 20 year old Jeanson Ancheta got arrested for running such an operation. Ancheta didn't actually use the botnets for his own purposes, but rented them to others to do their deeds.

Botnets are almost always are utilized for sending junk emails. They are also sometimes used for launching "denial of service" attacks against servers or networks. Spam sent by zombie systems tends to be highly randomized, making it problematic for email spam blocker applications to recognize and delete.

While large scale hacking like this is clearly illegal, most perpetrators are not hunted down and charged. In fact, this appears to be the first arrest of this nature in the United States.

So, why did he get busted? It turns out some of his code managed to infect computers in the Weapons Division of the US Navy. It's unlikely he specifically targeted those systems, but botnets tend to expand in a fashion that is viral. At this point it's unclear if the charges against him are only for hacking, or if there are specific charges involved with national security. Whatever they may be, it has been stated he could spend up to fifty years behind bars if found guilty.

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