US Arrests Leader of Cybercrime Network That Aided Export Violations
The U.S. arrested and charged Chinese national YunHe Wang with leading a cybercrime network that allowed people to anonymously commit crimes, including violations of export control laws, DOJ said May 29.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
The agency said Wang created the residential proxy service known as 911 S5 by working with others to spread malware across millions of residential Windows computers around the world. Wang then charged cybercriminals to use these “infected” internet protocol addresses for a fee, earning millions of dollars.
DOJ said the 911 S5 “client interface software,” hosted on U.S.-based servers, allowed cybercriminals outside the U.S. to buy goods with stolen credit cards or “criminally derived proceeds” and illegally export them outside the U.S., which violated the Export Administration Regulations. The agency also said the 911 S5 client interface “may also contain encryption or other features which subject it to export controls detailed in the EAR,” so certain downloads of the software without a license “may constitute violations of the EAR.”
Cybercriminals have used the 911 S5 network since as far back as 2014, DOJ said.
The agency charged Wang with conspiracy to commit computer fraud, substantive computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted on all counts, Wang faces a maximum 65-year prison sentence.
The indictment was announced one day after the Treasury Department sanctioned Wang and two other Chinese nationals for their ties to the cybercrime network (see 2405280044).