US smashes $10m data-stealing 'Bugat' botnet

Malware that stole bank codes and other data worth at least $10 million in the US alone has been smashed through a coordinated effort with Britain and new charges leveled against the administrator of the hacking network, US officials said.

The 'Bugat' botnet, also known as Cridex or Dridex, spread through seemingly innocuous emails to computers and once inside was used by botnet operators to obtain bank details and initiate bank transfers of millions of dollars, the US Department of Justice said.

"Through a technical disruption and criminal indictment we have struck a blow to one of the most pernicious malware threats in the world," the DOJ's David Hickton said in a statement Tuesday.

A 30-year-old Moldovan, Andrey Ghinkul, arrested on August 28 in Cyprus, was charged Tuesday with crimes related to the operation of the botnet and Washington is seeking his extradition.