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| The Thr34t-Krew used malware to take remote
control of other users' computers |
Andrew Harvey and Jordan Bradley, the British members of the
"Thr34t-Krew" hacking gang who spread malicious code around the
world, have been sentenced to jail at Newcastle Crown Court. The
men have been sent to jail for six months and three months
respectively.
Harvey, 24, and Bradley, 22, admitted conspiracy to cause
unauthorized modification of computers with intent, between 31
December 2001 and 7 February 2003. The men designed the TKBot-A Trojan horse to
control internet-connected computers belonging to innocent third
parties.
Once under the hackers' control infected PCs could be sent
commands by the gang, ranging from scanning other computers for
vulnerabilities to launching distributed denial of service (DDoS)
attacks against websites.
"More and more malware is designed to allow remote hackers to
take control of your computer without your knowledge," said
Graham Cluley,
senior technology consultant for Sophos. "The crimes committed by
these men are serious, and we can only be grateful that more
serious damage was not done. A strong message needs to go out to
those who write viruses, worms and Trojan horses that their
behavior is unacceptable and, if caught, they will be
punished."
Judge Beatrice Bolton told the pair at Newcastle Crown Court
that a prison sentence had to be imposed in order to serve as a
warning to the public.
In May, an American member of the gang was sentenced to 21 months
in jail for his involvement in the case. It was reported then that
the malware had broken into computer at the Department of
Defense.
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