A Moroccan national aged 18 and 21 years residing in Turkey were arrested for the development and dissemination of computer to disturbed that the services in networks of major U.S. News organizations and other institutions earlier this month, the FBI announced Friday.
Farid Essebar, a Moroccan using the name “Diabl0″ and Atilla Ekici of Turkey, which moniker “Coder”, were arrested in their countries of origin by the authorities to cooperate with U.S. investigators in pursuit of the origins of the Mytob Worm, a harmful Zotob variant, and one third of Rbot worm.
Assistant FBI director Louis Reigel, head of the Cyber Division, said investigators believe Essebar was the author of the code and sold to Ekici for financial gain. He said investigators had not determined what other financial crimes must be involved, but said he was not yet considered as proof of identity theft, banking fraud or counterfeiting.
The authorities indicated that she did not yet know how Essebar had benefited greatly, yet they still have any estimate of financial damage caused by the attacks.
Officials said was, nor suspicions on a watchlist, which suggests no political motivation for computer attacks.
In late afternoon conference call with journalists, Reigel not exclude the participation of others in the trap and said he was confident that, while the others were in cyber-crime, officials of Morocco and from Turkey would be able to find.
The criminal prosecution authorities in both countries, examination of suspects’ relations with other persons to determine the nature of those links.
A second unidentifizierte Morocco, it was initially suspected of involvement in the writing, the code has not been arrested, Reigel said.
FBI officials said the two men are expected to be pursued by the governments of their countries of origin.
“Their cyber-laws are not as advanced as in America, but people to pay, and the FBI is more than necessary, evidence to follow,” said Reigel.
Microsoft Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brad Smith said, even if powerful Anti-Hacker statutes are not available, Morocco and Turkey have consumers and the statutes of the fraud laws of consumer protection, which could be applied .
The FBI has praised Microsoft for its cooperation in the investigation, and the rapid decline of the resolution of the case to strong international cooperation. Microsoft said that the arrests proof of the importance of public-private cooperation and praise for the FBI effort.
Smith told reporters his company’s Internet Crimes Unit, which participates actively in the investigation, was able to monitor attacks Zotob “real time”.