Web Security News

FTC complaint shutters ISP hosting botnets, child porn

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Pricewert, a San Jose-based internet service provider, was ordered shut down by a court's temporary restraining order after the Federal Trade Commission complained the ISP knowingly hosted command-and-control servers for botnets and websites with child pornography.

At a California district court judge's order, Pricewert's upstream providers and data centers have disconnected its servers from the Internet. The company's assets were also frozen, FTC said.

According to the FTC, Pricewert does business under a variety of names including APS Telecom and 3FN, which the FTC said hosted bot herders and command-and-control servers which distributed more than 4,500 malicious software programs.

Transcripts of instant-message logs filed with the district court show the company's senior employees discussing the configuration of botnets with bot herders, according to the FTC.

The complaint alleges that the ISP actively recruited criminals seeking to distribute illegal, malicious and harmful electronic content - ranging from spyware and viruses to pornography featuring violence, bestiality and incest - and actively shielded its criminal clientele by ignoring take-down requests and shifting sites to other IP addresses to evade detection.

Max Christopher, a representative of Pricewert, said the company would not have an immediate response to the FTC complaint, according to IDG News Service. "We are a bit confused by the complaint," he said.