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back to article Remember that Citadel bank-slurping malware? Its main man was just jailed for five years

Russian programmer Mark Vartanyan has been sentenced to five years in US federal prison for developing and spreading the Citadel malware that stole $500m (£383m) from bank accounts around the world. Citadel is a variant of the Zeus banking Trojan, the source code of which leaked online in 2011. These software nasties could …

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  1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Coat

    Same old story.

    The devs gets the complaints but the PHCB get the cash.

    So how much was their take from this "criminal facilitation" to coin a phrase?

    Enquiring minds.....

    0 1 Reply
  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How much $$$ was recovered?

    I'm guessing close to zero.

    So after a couple of years, he gets out and disappears and lives the rest of his life in luxury knowing that he's paid his debt to Uncle Sam.

    Who says that crime does not pay eh?

    Posting AC so as not to tempt fate.

    7 0 Reply
    1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Reply Icon
      Unhappy

      "he gets out and disappears and lives the rest of his life in luxury "

      Probably not.

      That money would have gone to the people who bought, and used their software.

      Those guys (Point Headed Criminal Bosses) have the $30m.

      What he got depends on how many copies (and support contracts) they sold, and how long their support ran.

      Probably enough to keep the wolfski from the door, but I'd strongly suspect << $1m.

      2 1 Reply
  3. Sir Runcible Spoon
    WTF?

    Sir

    So, when do people get to take the makers of guns to court for someone using their products to rob or kill?

    If an armed robber takes down a bank, does the bank get to sue the manufacturer of the gun, the ammo or the balaclava stealth-wear?

    3 1 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sir

      If someone is making guns without a permit, and sells them to people for the sole use to commit crimes, they go to jail and you never hear of them again.

      Your analogy is dumb, as firearms are sold as defensive weapons, like antivirus is. Then abused. Just like cars are used to kill more people than any other device sold, it depends on the purpose of the thing and operator.

      If Vartanyan was making software like a text editor, or AV, or even a pen testing tool, sure he could be found not guilty. But that's not what he did, he intentionally facilitated criminal activity.

      Personally, I think he should have his fingers removed, yah, and the bank robbers too - electronic or in person. I have no mercy for those that would take what others work for.

      2 2 Reply
    2. phuzz Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      IT Angle

      Re: Sir

      It used to be possible in the US, until 2005 when a law was passed making it impossible to sue an arms manufacturer for unlawful killing. (You can still sue if your gun is defective and fails to kill people).

      As someone with no legal knowledge whatsoever, I'd advise the writers of malware to join forces and create the National Malware Association, and once they manage to get funding to similar levels to the NRA, then they should be able to get laws passed to make malware great again. After a few years it could be legal to concealed-carry malware, purely for self defence of course.

      6 0 Reply

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