The Department of Justice (DoJ) has indicted 7 people (6 from Estonia and 1 from Russia) for hijacking millions of computers with known malware. The 6 Estonians are in custody, while the single Russian remains at large. The defendants allegedly hijacked over 4 million computers, and are being charged with 27 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. This malware lawsuit is the first of its kind.
The malicious software in question was used to redirect legitimate web browsing requests to advertising sites where each click resulted in a monetary gain for the 7 defendants. It is estimate that they unlawfully acquired over $14 million with this scheme. This scam is almost four years old, but gained the attention of the DoJ when over 100 computers at NASA became infected. If convicted, the accused will face a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison.