Security News > 2024 > February > Zeus, IcedID malware kingpin faces 40 years in slammer
Vyacheslav Igorevich Penchukov, 37, pleaded guilty to two counts related to his leadership role in both the Zeus and IcedID malware operations this week, netting millions of dollars in the process.
Penchukov first became involved in the Zeus banking trojan as early as May 2009 but was only arrested over a decade later in Geneva, Switzerland in 2022.
The FBI et al dismantled Zeus in 2014 after previously claiming that one of its variants, Gameover Zeus, had infected up to 1 million PCs globally, causing in excess of $100 million in losses.
Like many other major malware strains that have come and gone, Zeus also had various different versions and iterations developed based on its source code.
At the time, like Zeus, it was primarily a banking malware and was the new thing on the scene, potentially representing an exciting albeit not entirely unfamiliar project to sink his teeth into.
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