:: Deepquest ::

A 20-year-old man was arrested Thursday on charges of infecting almost 400,000 computers operated by the U.S. military and others with viruses that helped launched electronic attacks and send spam e-mails.
James Ancheta of Downey allegedly spread malicious computer code as a way to assemble “armies of computers” under his control, said Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Aquilina

He then sold access to infected computers, known as “botnets,” to hackers and spammers as well as downloaded adware programs onto them to profit from the placements.

Prosecutors say his programs were powerful enough to infect computers operated by the Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake and the Defense Information Systems Agency, part of the Defense Department.

“With one command he could redirect thousands of computers to another server he controlled, and instruct those infected computers to pick up or receive the modified adware,” said Aquilina.

The 17-count indictment charges conspiracy, money laundering, transmission of code to a government computer and accessing a protected computer to commit fraud. If convicted on all counts, Ancheta could face 50 years in prison.

Prosecutors also want to confiscate more than $60,000 in cash, a BMW and computer equipment Ancheta allegedly used in the alleged scheme.

Ancheta will be arraigned by Friday, Aquilina said.

from [url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051104/ap_on_hi_te/computer_virus_broker]A.P[/url]