Network hijacked computers dismantled

- In an international police action, a large network of hijacked computers has been dismantled. Such a network, a botnet, can be used for cyber attacks. A man from Belarus has been arrested.

The dismantled network has been given the name Andromeda. The botnet was used to spread malicious programs (malware). Approximately 2 million computers in 223 countries and territories were infected. It is not known how many victims come from the Netherlands.

Andromeda is also associated with another network, Avalanche. That tried to get user names and passwords for internet banking. In addition, the makers wanted to lock computers with host software.

Avalanche was canceled last year after four years of research. Information from that case was used when rolling up Andromeda.

The investigation was carried out by the judiciary in the United States and Germany, in collaboration with the European Police Office Europol, judicial cooperation Eurojust and Microsoft.