International Team Smash Major Criminal Botnet

An international band of cybersecurity experts have brought down a network used by criminals to spread malicious software to thousands of computers.

The takeover prevents the botnet's administrators from using their network of hacked computers to trigger attacks

The Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce - made up of law enforcement teams from the UK, US and European Union - says it has seized the server used to operate the botnet known as Beebone.

The takeover prevents the botnet's administrators from using their network of hacked computers to trigger attacks.

It is believed that up to 12,000 computers have been compromised by the hackers since 2009 to create a zombie network of machines used to spread malicious software which steals passwords and financial information.

The FBI redirected traffic from the malicious domains used to control the botnet, and private security firms including Kaspersky Labs were involved in the operation.

Europol's Wil van Gemert said: "This successful operation shows the importance of international law enforcement working together with private industry to fight the global threat of cybercrime."

Europol adviser Raj Samani, who is EMEA chief technology officer at Intel Security, added: "From a techie's perspective, (the hackers) made it as difficult as they possibly could for us.

"The botnet does not seem the most widespread, however the malware is a very sophisticated one, allowing multiple forms of malware to compromise the security of the victims’ computers."

The seized computers must still be disinfected, and the takedown team are contacting internet service providers around the world to inform victims that their computers were compromised.