U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel has sentenced Blackshades malware creator Alex Yücel to serve a total of 57 months in prison after the 25-year-old Swedish business owner pleaded guilty to computer hacking charges related to the Blackshades operations. The federal judge also ordered Yücel to forfeit $200,000.
Yücel has reportedly sold and distributed the sophisticated malicious software Blackshades to cybercriminals in a global scale from 2010 to 2013, collecting more than $350,000 in sales, according to Manhattan federal court documents.
His website retailed software known as Blackshades Remote Access Tool (RAT) for $40 per license , which allowed more than 6,000 customers in 100 countries to secretly remote control other people's computers and webcams.
The malware featured spreader tools programmed to infect additional computers via links or messages that seemed to come from the victim's work associates or friends. Cybercriminals used the software to steal personal files, while some were able to intercept keystrokes and capture passwords. Others even demanded ransom payments after locking the owner's electronic data files. In a few cases, prosecutors said that one hacker used Blackshades to control computer cameras while secretly spying or photographing female victims as they undressed or had sex.
The Blackshades malware has corrupted more than half a million computers in several nations including Canada, Chile, Austria, Britain, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United States, according to prosecutors.
"This malware victimized thousands of people across the globe and invaded their lives. But Yücel's computer hacking days are now over," said Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Arrested in Moldova last November 2013, Yücel has already served approximately 13 months in U.S. custody, as he became the first extradited criminal from that country and then sentenced in the United States.
"The message must go forth that this is a serious crime worthy of a serious punishment," said Judge Castel as he turned down the 30-month punishment proposal of Yücel's attorney, who argued that the original purpose of the site was to offer training platforms for computer science students.
The judge firmly added that cybercriminals warrant harder punishments because offenses committed on the Internet have been very difficult to discover and root out.
On the other hand, Yücel swore to avoid any types of crime and instead pursue a legitimate career as he requested for a sentence that would allow him to visit his seriously ill mother and rejoin other relatives and his fiancée in Sweden.
