By Frederick Lane
So far, three people have been arrested in connection with "Operation Bot Roast," an initiative by the FBI and Department of Justice to disrupt networks of hijacked computers. The most infamous is "Spam King" Robert Soloway, who was charged with 35 counts of hijacking computers and using them to send spam messages. On Wednesday, the FBI and the Department of Justice announced the preliminary results of "Operation Bot Roast," an ongoing effort to identify and disrupt networks of hijacked computers know as "botnets." According to the agencies' joint press statement, the botnets are used to commit a wide variety of electronic crimes, including identity theft, denial-of-service attacks, phishing, click fraud, and the mass distribution of spam and spyware. The FBI and the DOJ have identified more than a million computer IP addresses associated with these networks, and said that there might be additional unidentified victims.
"The majority of victims are not even aware that their computer has been compromised or their personal information exploited," said FBI Assistant Director for the Cyber Division James Finch. "An attacker gains control by infecting the computer with a virus or other malicious code and the computer continues to operate normally."
Soloway, Others Arrested
So far, three people have been arrested and charged with crimes in connection with "Operation Bot Roast." The most infamous is Robert Alan Soloway, of Seattle, Washington, the so-called "Spam King," who was charged a couple of weeks ago with 35 counts of hijacking computers and using them to send millions of spam messages advertising his e-mail marketing abilities. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Also charged was James C. Brewer, of Arlington, Texas, who is accused of infecting thousands of computers, including a large number at two Chicago hospitals. The hospital computers had to be rebooted repeatedly, resulting in the delayed delivery of some medical services.
Lastly, Jason Michael Downey, of Covington, Kentucky, was charged with causing up to $20,000 in damages during an 11-week spam assault in
2004."Operation Bot Roast is only about three months old as a national initiative," said FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko in a phone interview. "But the cyber division has hundreds of open investigations; this is just the tip of the iceberg. There will be additional arrests and legal action in the weeks and months ahead."
User Responsibility
The FBI warned that news reports about "Operation Bot Roast" could generate new phishing schemes. "The FBI will not contact you online and request your personal information so be wary of fraud schemes that request this type of information, especially via unsolicited e-mails," the agency said.
Instead, people who believe that their computer might be infected are urged to contact the FBI and to use the online complaint form at the Internet Crime Complaint Center Web site,
In addition, the FBI is urging computer users to implement good security habits, including updating antivirus software, installing a firewall, and using strong passwords. Additional information about botnets and online crime prevention tips are available on the FBI Web site at
"If you own a car," Kolko said. "You have to take it in every six months for an oil change or tune-up. Computers require regular care as well. You can't just buy it and plug it in. You need to take the time to get the knowledge you need to protect your computer and prevent these kinds of attacks from happening."