Prolific Cybercrook Apprehended In Spain

Peter Levashov, a Russian hacker who has run a massive criminal enterprise for more than a decade, was arrested in Barcelona last week. Levashov is wanted by the FBI, which accuses him of wire fraud and unauthorized interception of electronic communications. Officials said Levashov flooded computers with millions of spam email messages, gaining access to bank accounts and then enriching himself and helping others commit stock fraud. He charged between $200 and $500 million per one million spam email messages, and charged more to target American computers. Levashov also rented his huge network of virus-infected computers to other online criminals. American officials, contradicting claims of Russian news media, say Levashov played no role in the attempts by Russian hackers to influence the U.S. election. Last week’s arrest follows the high-profile capture of another Russian spy, Stanislav Lisov, three months ago, also in Barcelona.