The FBI mentioned Tuesday that it has taken down a community of hacked units liable for extorting tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} from victims all over the world. From a report: US officers described the community referred to as Qakbot as some of the infamous “botnets” on the planet, referring to laptop networks which have been contaminated with malicious software program in order that they are often managed remotely with out the proprietor’s data — usually to ship phishing emails. These emails can in flip be used to hack into victims’ laptop methods, which attackers will maintain for ransom.
Qakbot was instrumental in enabling cyberattacks in opposition to companies and important companies all over the world, in line with US officers, together with hits on the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Division and hospitals run by Prospect Medical Group. The latter resulted within the closure of emergency rooms and medical amenities throughout the US. US officers estimated that, since its creation in 2008, Qakbot had contaminated round 200,000 computer systems within the US and 700,000 globally.
