Operation: Bot Roast

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Operation: Bot Roast is an operation by the FBI to track down bot herders or hackers who install malicious software on computers through the Internet without the owners’ knowledge, which turns the computer into a zombie computer that then sends out spam to other computers from the compromised zombie computer, making a botnet or network of bot infected computers. The operation was launched because the vast size of the botnet poses a threat to national security.^[1]

1 The results
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] The results

The operation was created to disrupt and disassemble bot herders. The FBI has identified about 1 million computers that were compromised, and to arrest the persons responsible for creating the malware, and notify the owners of infected computers.^[2]

Some early results of the operation include the charging:

Robert Alan Soloway of Seattle, Washington, is accused of using botnets to send tens of millions of spam messages touting his website.^[1]
James C. Brewer of Arlington, Texas, is accused of infecting tens of thousands of computers worldwide, including some at Chicago-area hospitals.^[1]
Jason Michael Downey of Covington, Kentucky, is charged with using botnets to disable other systems.^[1]
Akbot author "AKILL" (Owen Thor Walker) of New Zealand, convicted on various charges in April 2008^[3] ^[4]