An Australian national has been charged for developing and selling spyware to thousands of cyber criminals worldwide.
The remote access Trojan developed by the 24-year-old hacker was designed to steal personal information and spy on unsuspecting targets.
Jacob Wayne John Keen, who currently resides at Frankston, Melbourne, have created the remote access Trojan (RAT) when he was 15, in addition to working as the administrator for the tool from 2013 until its shutdown in 2019 by the authorities.
According to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the hacker was engaged with a network of individuals and sold the spyware, named Imminent Monitor (IM), to more than 14,500 individuals across 128 countries.
The defendant was charged with six counts of committing a computer offense by developing and supplying the malware, in addition to profiting off its illegal sale.
Another woman, aged 42, who lives with the accused and is identified as his mother has also been charged with “dealing with the proceeds of crime.”
The investigation that was codenamed Cepheus, was set in motion in 2017 when it received information about a “suspicious RAT” from cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The operation saw 85 search warrants executed globally in collaboration with over a dozen European law enforcement agencies which lead to the seizure of 434 devices and the arrests of 13 people for using the malware for harmful purposes.
Around 201 individuals obtained the RAT in Australia alone, which has buyers including domestic violence perpetrators and child sex offenders.
Imminent Monitor spyware was distributed via emails and text messages, and has capabilities to secretly log keystrokes as well as record the devices’ webcams and microphones, making it an effective tool for users to keep tabs on their targets.
The AFP stated that the spyware sold for about AUD$35 on an underground hacking forum, is estimated to have fetched the operator between $300,000 and $400,000, most of which was subsequently spent on food delivery services and other consumable and disposable items.
If proven guilty, the hacker would face a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.
Image Credits : Onmanorama
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