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Bitcoin Thieving Darkode Botnet Hacker Sentenced

Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:48 PM
Samburaj Das
Last Updated March 4, 2021 4:48 PM

A Darkode hacker has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for illegal cybercriminal activities. The hacker, who controlled 5,000 computers as a botnet, also conspired with another individual to steal over $80,000 in bitcoin.

Rory Stephen Guidry, 29, of Louisiana was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison for hacking and then attempting to sell a botnet; conspiring and stealing over $80,000 in bitcoin; hacking a computer to steal over 5,000 active credit card accounts.

Guidy controlled and attempted to sell a botnet of over 5,000 computers to a fellow user of the infamous English-speaking hacker forum Darkode.

The sentenced hacker partook in several cybercrimes from his grandparents’ home in Opelousas, Louisiana, where he stole over $80,000 in bitcoin along with another individual.

Guidy received half of the loot, $40,000 in bitcoin, some of which was converted to money that he spent. A press release  by the US Department of Justice does not reveal if his bitcoins have been seized.

Darkode was the most prominent English-speaking hacker platform that consisted of a forum and an illegal marketplace. To gain membership to the forum, prospective members had to go through several loops to prove that they were worthy of forum credentials. An individual had to be invited by an existing member of Darkode, before exhibiting a certain hacking prowess to prove that he or she had something to bring to the forum.

A collaborative effort by law enforcement agencies globally saw 20 countries participate, leading to the takedown of Darkode in July 2015 . 12 members were arrested at the time and up to 58 search warrants and potential charges were announced against Darkode members around the world.

In a statement, US attorney Stephanie A. Finley said:

Cybercrime threatens anyone and everyone in our ever-increasingly internet-connected world. Computer criminals will not be able to hide or maintain their anonymity and they will be prosecuted locally, nationally and internationally.