TLDR Tech / InfoSec
Alleged Kimwolf Botmaster 'Dort' Arrested, Charged in US and Canada
Jacob Butler (a.k.a. "Dort"), 23, was arrested in Ottawa on US extradition warrant for operating Kimwolf IoT botnet targeting firewalled devices (photo frames and webcams) that issued 25,000+ attack commands including DDoS strikes reaching 30 Tbps (record volume) and DoD targeting, causing $1M+ losses per victim, with Butler also orchestrating swatting attacks against Synthient founder Ben Brundage in retaliation for disclosing the critical IoT vulnerability Kimwolf exploited. He is facing 10 years of federal prison in the US and concurrent Canadian charges (unauthorized computer use and mischief to computer data). Law enforcement seized Kimwolf infrastructure on March 19 alongside three competing botnets (Aisuru, JackSkid, and Mossad) and in April seized domain names for nearly 50 DDoS-for-hire services including at least one collaborator with Kimwolf.
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