KEY POINTS:
The noose appears to be tightening on an 18-year-old Whitianga computer whiz after Dutch regulators this week imposed a record €1 million fine on companies allegedly using his malicious software.
The Dutch telecommunications regulator OPTA has indicated that Owen Walker, a home-schooled computer whiz, was one of the
botnet herders involved in the DollarRevenue scam and that botnet herders were paid a fee for each computer they infected €0.15 for each computer in Europe and US$0.25 for each in the United States.
Detailed records of payments were kept by those operating the scam.
New Zealand police in co-operation with the Dutch have established that Mr Walker, using his cyber name Akill, had infected 1.3 million computers as part of the DollarRevenue scam.
This could potentially have netted him hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Inspector Peter Devoy yesterday told the Herald police were following the money trails relating to the DollarRevenue associated companies and had received information from Dutch counterparts.
They were communicating with Dutch authorities via New Zealand police's London-based liaison officer Detective Superintendent Nick Perry.
Mr Walker's software is also central to an FBI investigation of a botnet coding group it says has caused more than "US$20m of economic loss" and involved cyber crimes committed in the United States ranging from vandalism to virtual bank robbery.
An FBI agent has been in New Zealand working with police. "We are still working with the FBI, however the FBI Special Agent has returned to the US," Mr Devoy said.
Mr Walker's home was searched and his computer hard-drives removed on November 28. The key to his culpability will likely lie in whether evidence is found of his having received payment for the use of his malware.
Selling or supplying malware carries a maximum penalty of two years' jail under the Crimes Act. Depending on evidence, the US could apply to extradite Mr Walker. Cyber crime penalties are harsher in the US.
Police are continuing to examine Mr Walker's hard-drives. Mr Walker's mother, Shell Moxham-Whyte, has said her son has Aspergers syndrome, a form of autism.
OPTA lead investigator Daan Molenaar reportedly described the DollarRevenue operators involved as "super-professionals of the highest class".
"The people behind DollarRevenue maintained detailed payment records," Molenaar said. The DollarRevenue distributors, who have not been charged with criminal offences, have appealed the fine.
DollarRevenue is alleged to have infected a total of 22 million computers. Its records pointed to involvement of several Russian botnet herders who have yet to be traced.
Aside from botnets, the DollarRevenue malware was spread by promising consumers access to content such as images of tennis star Anna Kournikova or pirated software. Users who attempted to open the files were instead infected with the spyware.
DollarRevenue sold advertising space to a plethora of firms, ranging from online pornography and gambling sites to mainstream companies, though OPTA cautioned that firms likely didn't know their advertising was being spread via cyber crime.
What it means
* Botnet: Network of hacked computers (also called zombies) which can be controlled by a single computer via the internet.
* Botnet herder: Person who controls a botnet and is capable of issuing instructions to computers linked to a botnet. For example, to download and install software without the owners of affected computers being aware.
* Malware: Collective term for all types of undesirable malicious software.
* Adware: Software which ensures a computer user gets to see specific advertising material.
* Spyware: Software which spies on your computer use and relays information about websites you visited and passwords used.
