Washington Man Pleads Guilty To Targeting Gamers With TrojanWashington Man Pleads Guilty To Targeting Gamers With Trojan

A Washington state man has pled guilty to writing and distributing a Trojan horse designed to steal private information from online gamers.

Richard C. Honour, 31, of Kenmore, Wa., was charged with causing harm to computers systems across the country, including one in the Eastern District of Missouri, where his case was handled. He appeared before U.S. District Judge Donald J. Stohr.

Honour faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 4.

"Computer viruses have the potential to cause an incredible amount of damage to the nation's economy," said United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway. "This office will pursue these cases aggressively. Tracking a computer crime can be tedious and difficult. This case is an example of excellent investigative work by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who responded to complaints from the Internet community and followed every lead until the case was resolved."

Honour, also known as Fyle/Anatoly, targeted the malware at users of Internet Relay Chat systems, including DarkMyst, a chatroom popular with players of online role-playing games, according to the Department of Justice. He sent messages to IRC users conning them into clicking on links with offers of online movies. People who clicked on the links were infected with the malware, which allowed him to access the infected machines to spy on their actions and steal their personal and financial information.

FBI agents based in St. Louis investigated the case and obtained a warrant to search Honour's Washington home, where they confiscated computer equipment. The DoJ says the FBI conducted a forensic examination of the equipment and found evidence of the malware and records indicating that Honour had obtained information from victims' computers.

"Criminals like Richard Honour lure the unwary by disguising their Trojan horses as seemingly harmless links to movie files," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, in a written statement. "The rise of the Trojan has been one of the key developments in cybercrime in recent years, as hackers increasingly use them to steal information and money from unsuspecting Internet users. Everyone should be on their guard against this type of attack. And the authorities should be congratulated for bringing complicated cases such as this to a successful resolution."

Earlier this month, Chinese authorities arrested six men in connection with the Fujacks worm, which distracted users with a picture of a panda while it stole user names and passwords from online game players.