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'Blackshades' webcam malware co-creator gets probation
The head of the 'Blackshades' hacking ring might be doing hard time, but one of his former partners won't be facing so bleak a future. A judge has sentenced malware co-creator Michael Hogue to 5 years' probation, a forfeiture of $40,000 and 500 hours of community service in return for pleading guilty to hacking and malware distribution charges back in 2013. The Remote Access Tool he helped write was heinous (it allowed webcam spying and ransom hijacking), the judge said. However, Hogue also cooperated with prosecutors and otherwise "did what he could" to set things right after he was caught -- the court just wasn't going to throw the book at him. While that might not be much consolation to the tool's 1 million victims, it should help close a particularly dark chapter of internet history.
'Blackshades' webcam spying ring leader gets over four years in prison
A year and a half following his arrest, the leader of the 'Blackshades' hacking ring is going behind bars. An American judge has sentenced Alex Yucel to 57 months (4.75 years) in prison after he pled guilty to charges that he distributed remote access malware to "thousands" of crooks, who used it for everything from swiping passwords to spying on women through their webcams. The decision is proof that this snooping is a "serious crime worthy of a serious punishment," the judge says. It's not the stiffest penalty possible -- prosecutors wanted Yucel to serve up to 7.5 years, and he likely got a break by promising that he wouldn't appeal a sentence under 7.25 years. Still, it's safe to say that his days of coding intrusive software are over. [Image credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew]
Leader of webcam spying ring 'Blackshades' pleads guilty
The Blackshades spying hack group may have come crashing down with a bang last year, but its alleged leader is going considerably more quietly. Alex Yucel has pleaded guilty to charges that he distributed Blackshades' remote control tool, which let creeps eavesdrop on webcams, track keyboard strokes and hold computers for ransom. Whether or not he faces a stiff penalty is still up in the air, however. Sentencing isn't until May 22nd, but Yucel has already said he won't appeal if he gets less than 7.25 years in prison. The court could easily throw the book at Yucel given that Blackshades violated the privacy of half a million people, but it may not be eager to spark a prolonged fight. [Image credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images]
Police raid 'Blackshades' webcam hackers who spied on naked victims
More than 90 people across 16 different countries have been arrested in a coordinated raid targeting users and sellers of a piece of malware, called the Blackshades Remote Access Tool. Known to its friends simply as "RAT," the $40 utility makes it relatively easy to spy on someone via their PC's webcam and their keyboard strokes, and it's thought to have infected around half a million computers since 2010. In the US, the FBI picked up a user in New Jersey who's accused of using RAT to steal sexually explicit photos of 45 victims through their webcams. This follows two earlier Blackshades-related arrests of men accused of capturing and stealing images of thousands of women and girls. The "global takedown" also involved the arrest of a 24-year-old Swedish citizen who's charged with selling RAT and offering technical support to buyers, making as much as $350,000 in the process.
