US Bot Herder Admits Infecting 250K Machines

In Los Angeles criminal court, security consultant John Schiefer, 26, has admitted infecting the systems of his clients with viruses to form a botnet containing a maximum of 250,000 systems. Schiefer used his zombies to steal users’ PayPal usernames and passwords to make unauthorised purchases, as well as to install adware on their computers without their consent. Schiefer agreed to plead guilty to four felony charges of accessing protected computers to commit fraud, disclosing illegally intercepted electronic communications, wire fraud and bank fraud. He will be sentenced 3 December and faces up to 60 years in prison and a fine of $1.75 million