Digital Trends

A hacker who turned hundreds of PCs into a botnet gets 41 months in prison, a fine, and supervision when he's finally released.

Not too long ago Robert Michael Bentley of Panama City, Florida, was the head of a hacking team controlling a large botnet of hijacked PCs. They were paid for every machine on which they installed ad-serving software and reportedly made thousands from their exploits.

However, now Bentley is set to begin a 41-month jail sentence, and has to pay a $65,000 fine, as well as facing three years of supervision when he’s finally released.

His downfall began after he took over computers belonging to the Newell Rubbermaid company. They informed the Computer Crime Unit of London’s Metropolitan Police about the intrusion. The hackers pushed so much data through the Newell Rubbermaid computers that they almost halted the company’s network, and it cost $150,000 to fix the damage.

The ensuing investigation, which began at the end of 2006, involved the FBI, Secret Service and others, and finally led to Michaels’ door.

Bob Burls, from the Metropolitan Police Computer Crime Unit, said in a statement:

"These computer criminals have no qualms about infecting computers around the world and causing thousands of pounds of damages. In their greed, they cause devastating damage to both private and company computers."