Russian Web Extortionists

Organized crime is setting up botnets under their control to attack websites, then offering protection from ‘malicious hackers’.

The RBNExploit blog — which is authored by one or more anonymous researchers — spelled out the racket run by the group, which is thought to be headquartered in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has been pegged by security professionals as a major source of malware and cybercriminal activity.

The price for protection is $2,000 per month. This is the same thing that happens on the streets and is very difficult to protect against. The average website owner should brush up on best security practices and the big companies better ask the experts.