Microsoft reaches settlement, drops lawsuit against man named in botnet case
Microsoft has dropped its lawsuit against a defendant in a federal case seeking to take down the Kelihos botnet, after determining the business owner was not directly involved with infecting internet users’ computers and using them to send billions of spam and steal personal information of people with Hotmail accounts.
In September, Microsoft said it had taken down another botnet, this one called Kelihos code named “Operation b79.”
Microsoft, in a complaint (pdf, 34 pages) in federal court related to the botnet, named Dominique Alexander Piatti, dotFREE Group SRO and John Does 1-22 as the owners of a domain used to register other subdomains to operate the Kelihos botnet.
But after talking with and receiving evidence from Piatti, Microsoft says it is now convinced Piatti and his business did not play a role in the “command and control” of the notorious botnet.
In a company post, Richard Domingues Boscovich, Microsoft’s attorney with the company’ Digital Crimes Unit, said it had reached a settlement with Piatti:
Since the Kelihos take down, we have been in talks with Mr. Piatti and dotFREE Group s.r.o. and, after reviewing the evidence voluntarily provided by Mr. Piatti, we believe that neither he nor his business were involved in controlling the subdomains used to host the Kelihos botnet. Rather, the controllers of the Kelihos botnet leveraged the subdomain services offered by Mr. Piatti’s cz.cc domain.
Microsoft said a settlement with Piatti includes Piatti’s agreement to “delete or transfer all the subdomains used to either operate the Kelihos botnet, or used for other illegitimate purposes, to Microsoft. Additionally, Mr. Piatti and dotFREE Group have agreed to work with us to create and implement best practices to prevent abuse.”
Microsoft said is continuing to pursue people responsible for the botnet’s operations.
Microsoft has aggressively gone after botnets. In the Kelihos botnet case, Microsoft said the botnet controllers were responsible for sending billions of spam emails, “harvesting” emails and passwords to promote counterfeit pharmaceuticals, stock scams and child pornography sites.
Microsoft recently won a civil case against the Rustock botnet operators and turned the evidence it gathered over to the FBI for a possible criminal case.
In March, Microsoft said it brought down Rustock, a notorious international botnet the company says was responsible for sending billions of spam messages with pitches for Viagra and other prescription drugs. At its peak, the botnet was capable of sending out 30 billion spam emails a day.
In September, Microsoft said it had taken down another botnet, this one called Kelihos code named “Operation b79.”
Microsoft, in a complaint (pdf, 34 pages) in federal court related to the botnet, named Dominique Alexander Piatti, dotFREE Group SRO and John Does 1-22 as the owners of a domain used to register other subdomains to operate the Kelihos botnet.
But after talking with and receiving evidence from Piatti, Microsoft says it is now convinced Piatti and his business did not play a role in the “command and control” of the notorious botnet.
In a company post, Richard Domingues Boscovich, Microsoft’s attorney with the company’ Digital Crimes Unit, said it had reached a settlement with Piatti:
Since the Kelihos take down, we have been in talks with Mr. Piatti and dotFREE Group s.r.o. and, after reviewing the evidence voluntarily provided by Mr. Piatti, we believe that neither he nor his business were involved in controlling the subdomains used to host the Kelihos botnet. Rather, the controllers of the Kelihos botnet leveraged the subdomain services offered by Mr. Piatti’s cz.cc domain.
Microsoft said a settlement with Piatti includes Piatti’s agreement to “delete or transfer all the subdomains used to either operate the Kelihos botnet, or used for other illegitimate purposes, to Microsoft. Additionally, Mr. Piatti and dotFREE Group have agreed to work with us to create and implement best practices to prevent abuse.”
Microsoft said is continuing to pursue people responsible for the botnet’s operations.
Microsoft has aggressively gone after botnets. In the Kelihos botnet case, Microsoft said the botnet controllers were responsible for sending billions of spam emails, “harvesting” emails and passwords to promote counterfeit pharmaceuticals, stock scams and child pornography sites.
Microsoft recently won a civil case against the Rustock botnet operators and turned the evidence it gathered over to the FBI for a possible criminal case.
In March, Microsoft said it brought down Rustock, a notorious international botnet the company says was responsible for sending billions of spam messages with pitches for Viagra and other prescription drugs. At its peak, the botnet was capable of sending out 30 billion spam emails a day.
Comments
Post a Comment