Today Richard Boscovich, a Senior Attorney of Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit, wrote on Microsoft's Official blog that Microsoft has won the civil case against the Rustock botnet operators.All of the evidence Microsoft gathered during the investigation will be turned over to the FBI for a possible criminal case.
Microsoft says that the $200,000 reward for any new information or tips that help with the arrest & conviction of Rustock botnet ringleaders is still up for grabs as well, but that tipsters should contact the FBI directly.
In addition to news of the civil case victory, Microsoft also revealed new numbers related to Rustock infections, showing that the Rustock botnet has decreased in size by almost 75% since it was taken down six months ago.
Back in March, the number of worldwide infections was a little over 1.6 million, but today it hovers just above 420,000. The top 10 countries infected are now (in order): India, USA, Turkey, Italy, Russia, France, Germany, Brazil, United Kingdom, and Poland.
Rustock once reigned as the leading single source of spam, pumping out a whopping 30 billion spam emails per day at its peak. Most spam emails advertised prescription drugs such as Viagra and contained attachments laced with a Trojan that would recruit the recipient’s machine into the botnet.
Additional information, including exact counts for the number of infected machines per country, can be seen on Microsoft’s Official Blog.
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