In a coordinated effort, the FBI successfully dismantled the largest botnet ever identified. Known as 911 S5, this botnet infected millions of Windows computers worldwide using fraudulent VPN applications and pay-per-install services. Over eight years, from 2014 to 2022, the botnet affected more than 19 million unique IP addresses across 200 countries, facilitating various cybercrimes.
This operation was a significant achievement for the FBI in their efforts to combat cybercrime. As a result of the operation, a Chinese citizen was arrested and identified as the administrator of the botnet. This individual managed approximately 150 servers globally to control the infected computers and provided paying customers with access to proxy IP addresses from the infected devices to mask their identities in committing crimes such as financial fraud, identity theft, and child exploitation.
The successful dismantling of this network highlights the importance of international cooperation in combating cyber threats. Several law enforcement agencies from the United States, Singapore, Thailand, and Germany collaborated in this operation to bring down the largest botnet in history.
