Notorious Russian Hacker Pleads Guilty to U.S. Charges

Peter Levashov, thought to be one of the world’s most notorious hackers, pleaded guilty to U.S. charges on Wednesday. The government is alleging the 36-year-old Levashov “operated a network of devices used to steal computer credentials, distribute spam emails and install malicious software,” and he pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, identity theft, and other charges in a Connecticut court after being extradited from Spain. Prosecutors linked Levashov to a number of botnets that were able to send out billions of spam emails in an effort to “harvest email address, logins and passwords from infected computers and also distributed malware and other malicious software,” the Associated Press reported. Prosecutors also allege Levashov took part in selling and trading stolen identities and credit card numbers online. Bloomberg reports that his sentencing in the U.S. is scheduled almost a year away, which is an indication that he could be cooperating with prosecutors. Beyond his expertise in the cyber realm, Levashov claims he worked as a military officer for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ruling party for a decade collecting information on opposition parties. The party said his claim was “nonsense.”