Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The FBI defeated an insidious computer virus using anti-hacker tactics that the bureau didn’t have a few years ago, Bloomberg reports.
The cyberbattle with Gameover Zeus ended in victory last week after FBI experts reverse-engineered the virus’ communication, seized control over servers overseas and kept hackers from re-establishing contact.
“This was the most sophisticated hacking disruption we have attempted to date,” said Leslie Caldwell, the assistant attorney general in charge of the U.S. Justice Department’s criminal division. “It was a hand-to-hand combat type of situation.”
The operation show how far the FBI has come in the war against cyber crime.
In this case, the virus siphoned off more than $100 million from U.S. businesses and consumers over the past three years, Bloomberg wrote.
