Google shuts down approximately 2 million hacked devices across the globe in lieu to dismantle the global cybercrime activities.
Google also filed a lawsuit against the Russian-based hackers who have been proven to be responsible for the cyber hijacking.
The botnet of the hijacked devices was also being used to mine bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The botnets were canceled as well.
Google said that, “it has moved to shut down a network of about one million hijacked electronic devices used worldwide to commit online crimes, while also suing Russia-based hackers the tech giant claimed were responsible.
The so-called botnet of infected devices, which was also used to surreptitiously mine bitcoin, was cut off at least for now from the people wielding it on the internet.
the botnets can “recover more quickly from disruptions, making them that much harder to shut down. We are working closely with industry and government as we combat this type of behavior,” Google said in a blog post.
“The operators of Glupteba are likely to attempt to regain control of the botnet using a backup command and control mechanism,” wrote Shane Huntley and Luca Nagy from Google’s threat analysis group.
Big tech-savvy giants such as Microsoft and Google are increasingly investing their efforts to combat the growing cybercrime across the globe, which is mostly conducted through their devices or platforms.
Google stated that “the network includes about one million Windows-using devices worldwide for crimes that include stealing users’ credentials and has targeted victims from the United States, India, Brazil, and Southeast Asia.”
A lawsuit was filed in a New York federal court by Google against Dmitry Starovikov and Alexander Filippov to seek an infinite injunction to block their wrongdoings and criminal activities from the said company’s platforms.
Google announced that “The company is suing them in hopes it will “set a precedent, create legal and liability risks for the botnet operators, and help deter future activity.”
Hackers across the world have used Google’s services to spread malware. The multi-tech giant also shut down around 63 million google docs as well as terminated 1100 accounts that were spreading the malicious glupteba.
