Security News > 2023 > April > Google sues CryptBot slingers, gets court order to shut down malware domains

Google said it obtained a court order to shut down domains used to distribute CryptBot after suing the distributors of the info-stealing malware.

The court granted Google a temporary restraining order, which allowed it to shut down the bot operators' internet infrastructure.

Usually in this sort of case, Google gets to take its restraining order to the registrars and registries of domain names used to spread malware, and get those domains disabled or handed over.

The distributors targeted in the lawsuit operated websites that lured unwitting users into downloading malicious versions of Google Earth Pro and Google Chrome, we're told.

"Recent CryptBot versions have been designed to specifically target users of Google Chrome, which is where Google's CyberCrimes Investigations Group and Threat Analysis Group teams worked to identify the distributors, investigate and take action," Trinh and Bureau said.

The CryptBot infrastructure takedown comes about five months after Google won its year-long legal battle against the alleged Glupteba botnet operators, who were based in Russia.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/04/27/google_cryptbot_shutdown/