Google sues alleged BADBOX 2.0 perpetrators
Filed July 11 in the Southern District of New York, a Google LLC lawsuit, Google LLC v. Does 1–25, targets a group of unnamed defendants allegedly behind “BADBOX 2.0,” a global botnet that the company says has infiltrated more than 10 million internet-connected devices.
In filings, Google said the case is one of the most significant botnet disruptions in recent years.
“I think Google is pursuing this as a means to protect their market share of mobile devices,” said ThreatLocker Detect Product Director John Lilliston. “I view their legal action as an ethical pursuit that has widespread implications for their end users.”
The civil complaint, filed under seal, accuses 25 unidentified individuals of operating a sprawling criminal enterprise that compromised consumer electronics to carry out large-scale ad fraud and proxy-based cybercrimes. Google cites alleged violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
