The story is worthy of a spy movie. In March, Microsoft announced that it had conducted an investigation called Operation B107 to dismantle the botnet Rustock, a group of one million zombie computers controlled remotely by hackers, allegedly responsible for sending 30 billion spam each day, about half of the spam world. These messages were presented in the form of fake notifications of lottery or prescription drugs.
But despite the analysis of servers, Microsoft has failed to identify its creators. After publishing two inserts in Russian newspapers last month, the software giant has upped the ante by offering the $ 250,000 dollars to anyone who will be able to share new information to identify, arrest and convict officials Rustock, Computer World book site. For from the action of Microsoft in March, hundreds of thousands of computers are still infected.
"This award shows that Microsoft is committed to tracking down those responsible for the Rustock botnet, responsible for many criminal activities. Although the primary goal of our legal and technical operation was to stop the threat represented Rustock for each person that it was affected, we also believe that those who controlled it must be held accountable for their actions, "reads the blog of the company.
The promised amount is available for information of any country, even if Microsoft thinks that the creators of Rustock hiding in Russia.
