Security Professional Busted for Botnet

John Schiefer, a systems administrator for Evo.Com, an environmentalists website, and former technician at 3G Communications, faces up to 60 years in the slammer for running a botnet, stealing passwords, and uploading adware to his victims.

Brian Krebs of the WaPo has the full details here.

A Los Angeles security professional has admitted to infecting more than a quarter million computers with malicious software and installing spyware that was used to steal personal data and serve victims with online advertisements.

John Kenneth Schiefer, 26, variously known online as “acid” and “acidstorm,” agreed to plead guilty to at least four felony charges of fraud and wiretapping, charges punishable by $1.75 million in fines and nearly 60 years in prison.

Schiefer’s employer — Los Angeles-based Internet telephony provider 3G Communications — let him go in March 2006 after he filed a series of disability claims. His job at the time was to help secure communications networks for businesses.

Later that month, federal agents raided his home, seizing computer equipment and other evidence.

Schiefer also said he had installed adware on machines he and his friends controlled, making a 20 cent commission each time they installed a piece of software from TopConverting, a now defunct adware company.

Schiefer acknowledged that in mid-2005, he made more than $19,000 in commissions from TopConverting by installing to hijacked computers. Schiefer admitted that he spent most of that week’s earnings the following month entertaining himself and friends at DefCon, a massive hacker and security research conference held annually in Las Vegas.

A quarter million bots is not the largest botnet I have written about, but it is still vast and can do lots of damage when it is set to attack.

Corporations looking to hire people for sysadmin and security positions really need to spend some time doing a background check on their prospective employees. It is doubtful that Schiefer will ever work around computers again. Here is Schiefer’s Linkedin page.