The Department of Justice has charged a Chinese national with operating the world's "largest botnet" that stole $5.9 billion in COVID-19 relief funds.
Chinese national YunHe Wang, 35, allegedly propagated his malware through virtual private network programs and pay-per-install services that bundled his malware with other program files, including pirated versions of licensed software or copyrighted materials, the DOJ said in a press release.
"Wang created malware that compromised millions of residential computers around the world and then sold access to the infected computers to cybercriminals," said the principal deputy assistant attorney general, Nicole M. Argentieri, who is head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.
"These criminals used the hijacked computers to conceal their identities and commit a host of crimes, from fraud to cyberstalking. Cybercriminals should take note. Today's announcement sends a clear message that the Criminal Division and its law enforcement partners are firm in their resolve to disrupt the most technologically sophisticated criminal tools and hold wrongdoers to account."
The DOJ partnered with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies internationally to take apart the botnet and arrest Wang, who is facing a maximum 65-year prison sentence with four criminal counts: conspiracy to commit computer fraud, substantive computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
"The conduct alleged here reads like it's ripped from a screenplay," said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security.
"What they don't show in the movies though is the painstaking work it takes by domestic and international law enforcement, working closely with industry partners, to take down such a brazen scheme and make an arrest like this happen," Axelrod added.