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Botnet herder / spam kingpin arrested

April 10, 2017 by in Legal

Via Krebs on Security, a russian named Pyotr Levashov has been arrested in Spain. According to news reports (NY Times, Reuters) the arrest happened in response to a warrant issued by the US, but no details were given as to what he was being charged with. The DoJ says the case is currently under seal and will not comment on charges.

There is widespread agreement that this person is involved in major spamming operations. He’s one of Spamhaus’ Top 10 spammers (ROKSO listing). He’s been implicated in fraud during the 2012 elections in Russia. Some reports are speculating that he was involved in the hacking of the 2016 elections here in the US, but there’s no current evidence that’s true.

 

 

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