Microsoft is offering up to $250,000 for new information that leads to the arrest and conviction of operators of the Rustock botnet, a collection of computers programmed by malware to send out spam email.
In March, Microsoft said it had brought down Rustock, an 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.
Microsoft has filed a civil suit in Russia, and as part of that effort, "we decided to augment our civil discovery efforts to identify those responsible for controlling the notorious Rustock botnet," it said.
The March take-down of Rustock involved seizing computers at Internet hosting facilities in the Seattle area and several other U.S. cities. But, Microsoft said, "there are still hundreds of thousands of infected computers around the world yet to be cleaned of the botnet malware."
Microsoft also alleges the botnet "was responsible for a number of other crimes as well, including advertising counterfeit or unapproved versions of pharmaceuticals, and violating the trademarks of the pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer Inc. and Microsoft."
The last time Microsoft announced a reward for information leading to an arrest and prosecution of malware was in 2009 when it offered $250,000 to stop the spread of the Conficker worm.
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In March, Microsoft said it had brought down Rustock, an 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.
Microsoft has filed a civil suit in Russia, and as part of that effort, "we decided to augment our civil discovery efforts to identify those responsible for controlling the notorious Rustock botnet," it said.
The March take-down of Rustock involved seizing computers at Internet hosting facilities in the Seattle area and several other U.S. cities. But, Microsoft said, "there are still hundreds of thousands of infected computers around the world yet to be cleaned of the botnet malware."
Microsoft also alleges the botnet "was responsible for a number of other crimes as well, including advertising counterfeit or unapproved versions of pharmaceuticals, and violating the trademarks of the pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer Inc. and Microsoft."
The last time Microsoft announced a reward for information leading to an arrest and prosecution of malware was in 2009 when it offered $250,000 to stop the spread of the Conficker worm.
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http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2011/07/microsoft-offers-250k-reward.html
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http://noticeofpleadings.com/
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