In a coordinated effort, the FBI successfully dismantled the largest ‘botnet’ ever identified, known as 911 S5. This malicious network infected millions of Windows computers worldwide using fraudulent VPN applications and pay-per-install services. Over an eight-year period, between 2014 and 2022, the ‘botnet’ affected more than 19 million unique IP addresses across 200 countries, facilitating various cybercrimes.
The FBI led the operation to take down the ‘botnet’, marking it as a significant achievement in their efforts to combat cybercrime. The operation resulted in the arrest of a Chinese citizen who was identified as the administrator of the ‘botnet’. This individual managed approximately 150 servers globally to control the infected computers and provided paying customers with access to proxy IP addresses from the infected devices to mask their identities in committing crimes such as financial fraud, identity theft, and child exploitation.
Several law enforcement agencies from the United States, Singapore, Thailand, and Germany collaborated in this operation to bring down the largest ‘botnet’ in the world. The successful dismantling of this network highlights the importance of international cooperation in combating cyber threats.
