FBI Offers $3 Million Reward For Russian Hacker 66
mpicpp sends word that the FBI and the U.S. State Department have announced the largest-ever reward for a computer hacking case. They're offering up to $3 million for information leading to the arrest of Evgeniy Bogachev, a 31-year-old Russian national. Bogachev is the alleged administrator of the GameOver Zeus botnet, estimated to have affected over a million computers, causing roughly $100 million in damages. "Bogachev has been charged by federal authorities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with conspiracy, computer hacking, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering... He also faces federal bank fraud conspiracy charges in Omaha, Nebraska related to his alleged involvement in an earlier variant of Zeus malware known as 'Jabber Zeus.'"
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They do if you happen to be in the US, and they're just fine with your being kidnapped and brought to the US by third parties, they just can't do it themselves.
Indeed. For $3M, some bounty hunter might snatch him and take him either to America or to a 3rd country with an extradition treaty. The wanted poster even provides some helpful hints about where Bogachev likes to vacation. Mr Bogachev should watch his back.
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"Yeah, we'll just helicopter into Russia... grab him..."
No need to do that. The bounty hunter can be a Russian. $3M will buy a lot of rubles. There is also no need for a helicopter. The trunk of a car will work just fine, and $3M provides enough overhead to bribe a few border guards.
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They're Russians. They have cameras on everything.
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He can probably double the offer. Nah, as usual the government is rewarding cowardly tattletales or criminal rivals
Or someone already has him and this is just a way of handing them some cash for some unrelated matter, etc etc
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....they just can't be caught doing it themselves...
FTFY.
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They do if you happen to be in the US, and they're just fine with your being kidnapped and brought to the US by third parties
nah, thats what CIA is for, just ask Italians
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Law? Aren't you all innocent and adorable!
I think hog tying him and dumping him at the U.S. Embassy might work too. You don't think there might be a Russian or two who wouldn't mind $3M US, do you?
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Which would accomplish what exactly? Assange is still stuck in embassy specifically because while diplomatic immunity protects him while inside the embassy grounds, there's no way to move him out without British police grabbing him.
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LOL Assange is not in the US embassy. If they dropped this guy at the US embassy they would arrest him. I can't even follow your logic on thinking the two are similar.
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That's nice. You arrest him. And?
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Keeping an eye on the pubs, eh Evgeniy?
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Many do... but not Russia, which happens to be where the guy is.
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In fact he's not the only one: http://www.fbi.gov/wanted [fbi.gov]
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The first line about Osama Bin Laden is pretty much spot on and there are quite a few others who have gotten the same treatment. The rest of the post is incendiary non-sense.
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It wasn't American law that got Osama bin Laden, though.
And it took a decade.
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It took a decade AFTER the Taliban told the US where Osama was! They told him exactly where he was and told them they are fine with the US getting him out.
But that would have been to easy and would not have resulted in the war that Bush's oil-buddies wanted.
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More than likely this guy is already a valuable asset to said Russian mob.
Now that's class hacker status (Score:2)
Trumps, "I spent x years in prison"
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Well, let's just ask him what if feels like. Oh, wait, TFA says
"Bureau officials said they believed Bogachev was still in Russia. He could not immediately be reached for comment."
They want to hire him (Score:3)
They want to hire him, not send him to prison. Well, or force him to work for them. You know, good American things.
Almost going after the guys who ruined the economy (Score:3, Insightful)
Bogachev has been charged by federal authorities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with conspiracy, computer hacking, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering... He also faces federal bank fraud conspiracy charges in Omaha, Nebraska
Difference between banker and this guy: the computer hacking charges, and that he wasn't given tons of money for destroying our economy.
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Anyone know how the FBI/others know it was him? I mean, he's been charged, presumably whilst absent, so there must be some 'damning' evidence of some sort. It's easy to say "we traced some connections to his house in Meerkovo", but how on earth did they do such a thing, and how can they be sure that it was actually him? I mean, wouldn't he have covered his tracks pretty comprehensively? I presume they (also?) found him lurking on some IRC channels or some such, but again, how would they know it was really h
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$100 million in damages? (Score:4, Funny)
So I guess he shared a movie online somewhere...
Plot twist (Score:2)
Charges (Score:1)
Conspiracy, computer hacking, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering - that's what the NSA is charged with....hang on. That's not right. The NSA hacks Americans but is charged with nothing.
Lord of all Hackers (Score:1)
Botnet affected over a million computers? (Score:1)
Hey Soulskill, what class of ' computers ' did this botnet infect? Don't hesitate to name Operating System platforms, such as Apple OS X, Linux or Android
FBI investigating the Zeus Trojan? (Score:1)
What the fuck would the FBI know about 'computer' hacking.
I Wonder what the Legal... (Score:2)