Italian citizen and alleged cybercriminal Fabio Gasperini was arraigned in a Brooklyn federal court on Friday, one day after he was extradited to the United States from the Netherlands for charges related to computer hacking, wire fraud, and money laundering. He pled not guilty and was remanded at the Brooklyn federal court.
According to court documents, the thirty-four-year-old Gasperini hacked into computer servers owned by American companies and created backdoors that allowed him to access data from those servers, some of which contained sensitive data and files. He then allegedly introduced malicious software onto the servers, which he used to create a botnet—a network of private computers infected with malware that could be controlled without the owner's knowledge.
Using those bots, he was able to direct automated clicks to ads on his own websites, which constitutes click fraud, according to federal prosecutors in Brooklyn. Globally, "click fraud" cost advertisers $7.2 billion in 2016, per the Association of National Advertisers.
"Cybersecurity is a priority and we will pursue those who hack into computers, spread malicious software, and victimize U.S. companies and computers until they are brought to justice," said Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Bridget Rohde.
"This is yet another case that demonstrates the commitment of the FBI’s Cyber Task Force to investigate and bring to justice those who commit cybercrime, regardless of where they may reside,” added Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.
