Minor Teen, Ancheta Associate Pleads Guily to Charges

["Paul Ferguson" <fergdawg () netzero net>]

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Via The Register.

[snip]

A young hacker accused of helping to corral more than 400,000 computers
into a money-making botnet has pleaded guilty to criminal charges in
connection with the scheme, which he admits damaged US military computers.

The defendant was identified only by the the initials B.D.H. because he was
a juvenile when the crimes were committed. He is better known by the handle
"SoBe" in internet relay channels frequented by hackers. He appeared in US
District Court in Los Angeles on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to two
counts of juvenile delinquency. His plea agreement contemplates a sentence
of one year to 18 months in prison.

SoBe entered the public spotlight in November 2005 as an "unindicted
co-conspirator" to Jeanson James Ancheta, who eventually pleaded guilty to
four felony charges in connection with the same botnet. With SoBe located
in Boca Raton, Florida, and Ancheta working in Downey, California, the two
built a lucrative business by surreptitiously installing adware on
computers and then pocketing affiliate fees. According to court documents,
the pair collected at least $58,000 in 13 months, but it's possible they
made much more.

"It's immoral, but the money makes it right," Ancheta told SoBe during one
online chat, according to the indictment charging Ancheta.

[snip]

More:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/12/bot_herder_cops_plea/

- - ferg

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--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg(at)netzero.net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/


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