Fast flux trojan author to plead guilty

2008-07-01

Helen Martin

Virus Bulletin, UK

Editor: Helen Martin

Abstract

Nugache author enters plea bargain.

A 19-year-old is due to plead guilty in a US court to one count of computer assisted fraud after having admitted to creating the Nugache trojan and using it to create one of the first fast flux botnets. The trojan spread through AOL instant messenger and, once clicked on, added the victim machine to a zombie network that used a peer-to-peer mechanism to communicate rather than relying on a single command and control channel.

According to a plea bargain agreement Jason Michael Milmont ran a botnet using the trojan which, at its peak, consisted of between 5,000 and 15,000 computers. He used the botnet to obtain victims' credit card details and steal thousands of dollars by making online purchases using the stolen credentials. The botnet was also used to launch DDoS attacks against an online business.

Milmont faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and almost $74,000 restitution.

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