Spanish coppers bust Mariposa botnet ring

Spanish police have arrested three men accused of masterminding one of the biggest computer crimes to date — infecting more than 13 million PCs with a virus that stole credit card numbers and other data.

The men were suspected of running the Mariposa botnet, named after the Spanish word for butterfly, said Spain’s Civil Guard.

Mariposa had infected machines in 190 countries in homes, government agencies, schools, more than half of the world’s 1,000 largest companies and at least 40 big financial institutions, according to two Internet security firms that helped Spanish officials crack the ring…

Mariposa initially spread by exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft Corp’s Internet Explorer Web browser. It also contaminated machines by infecting USB memory sticks and by sending out tainted links using Microsoft’s MSN instant messaging software, he said.

A Microsoft spokeswoman said the company did not immediately have any comment…

Panda Security Senior Research Advisor Pedro Bustamante said that one of the three was caught with 800,000 personal credentials when Spanish police arrested him.

“Mariposa’s the biggest ever to be shut down, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. These things come up constantly,” said Mark Rasch, former head of the U.S. Department of Justice computer crimes unit.

Maybe just the tip of the iceberg; but, it feels like there has been a measurable increase in arrests, lately.

Overdue. Welcome.