14 DAY TRIAL // A Manhattan judge sentenced Michael Hogue, 25, to five years of probation, 500 hours of community service, and the forfeiture of $40,000 / €36,800. Hogue is the co-creator of the Blackshades RAT (Remote Access Trojan).
Hogue, together with his partner, Alex Yucel, created the Blackshades RAT, which they ran together with Brendan Johnston, from at least September 2010 to April 2014.
The trio sold the Blackshades RAT on underground forums for prices around $40 / €37. In 2010, they tried to sell their malware via a fake website set up by the FBI, who got on their trail and together with European authorities arrested all three, plus over 80 of their customers.
All three men behind Blackshades have now received their sentences
Hogue, from Arizona, and Johnston, from California, were arrested in the US and pleaded guilty at the start of 2015. Yucel was arrested in Moldova and later extradited to the US, and he pleaded guilty as well.
Yucel was sentenced last June 2015 to 57 months in prison, the forfeiture of $200,000 and his computer equipment. In the same month, Johnston was also sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
The last man of the Blackshades trio to await sentencing was Hogue, who received his punishment last Friday, January 29, 2016. US District Judge Kevin Castel said he gave Hogue a lighter sentence because he cooperated with authorities since the moment he was caught.
Blackshades RAT infected over 500,000 computers
Blackshades was one of the most advanced RATs on the market when the FBI cracked down on its creators. The malware was capable of infecting computers, logging keystrokes, stealing personal information, spying on victims via their webcams, and even installing ransomware and asking for money payments to unlock the computers.
US authorities estimated that over half a million computers worldwide were compromised by the malware. They also believe the tool pocketed its creators around $350,000 / €312,000.
One of the people that abused the Blackshades RAT is Stefan Rigo, a 33-year-old UK man living in Leeds, who used it to spy on his friends' love life.