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A Melburnian appeared in court on charges of creative intrusive spyware sold to cyber criminals and domestic violence offenders.
The 24-year-old man from Melbourne was charged for creating and distributing the remote access trojan (RAT) named Imminent Monitor when he was 15 years old.
This spyware gives users full remote access to devices, including taking over cameras and speakers, logging keystrokes, stealing sensitive information, and installing additional software. These types of malware are popular among domestic abusers who intend to spy on their victims.
The malware was advertised and sold on a forum dedicated to hacking for $35 per license, which allegedly gained $400,000 in sales. According to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), a high percentage of Australia-based Paypal users (14.2%) with transactions associated with purchasing RAT are respondents to domestic violence cases.
The two were served their summons at their home in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston last July with warrants of arrest filed due to their non-appearance in court on July 29, which was cancelled when they appeared in Brisbane Magistrate Counts on Friday.
The man is facing six charges associated with computer offence, dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, unauthorised alteration of data to cause impairment, and dealing in the profits of crime. At the same time, the 42-year-old woman is facing charges of dealing with the profits of the crime amounting to $100,000. The mother and son face up to 20 years of imprisonment if convicted.
Authorities identified over 14,500 people from 128 countries who allegedly brought the RAT. Law enforcement agencies worldwide have arrested 13 people and seized hundreds of devices in connection with Imminent Monitor.
“These types of malware are so nefarious because they can provide an offender virtual access to a victim’s bedroom or home without their knowledge,” says AFP Commander Cybercrime Operations Chris Goldsmid.
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