According to FBI more than 1 million computers are used by hackers in order to build their botnets. In cyber-terms a botnet means a collection of compromised computers that can be used under the remote command to initiate and facilitate cyber crimes such as  as identity theft, denial of service attacks, phishing, click fraud, and the mass distribution of spam and spyware. Those in charge of botnets are called botherders.

FBI has started OPERATION BOT ROAST, a national initiative, in order to disrupt and dismantle “botherders” and elevate the public’s cyber security awareness of botnets. The FBI is working with the CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University, to notify the victim owners of the computers. Through this process the FBI may uncover additional incidents in which botnets have been used to facilitate other criminal activity.

“The majority of victims are not even aware that their computer has been compromised or their personal information exploited,” said FBI Assistant Director for the Cyber Division James Finch. “An attacker gains control by infecting the computer with a virus or other malicious code and the computer continues to operate normally. Citizens can protect themselves from botnets and the associated schemes by practicing strong computer security habits to reduce the risk that your computer will be compromised.”

FBI also announced the name of those that have been charged or arrested during  Operation Bot Roast

One of them is James C. Brewer of Arlington, Texas, who is responsible for cyber attacks on Chicago area hospitals.

Robert Alan Soloway of Seattle, Washington, is alleged to have used a large botnet network and spammed tens of millions of unsolicited email messages to advertise his website from which he offered services and products. Soloway could face 65 years in jail if found guilty of all the crimes with which he has been charged.

The third man is Jason Michael Downey of Covington, Kentucky, who is charged with using botnets to send a high volume of traffic to intended recipients to cause damage by impairing the availability of such systems.