Darkode, one of the famous English-speaking forums in the world, was shut down on July 15, 2015. As per the reports, the Europol and FBI confirmed that 28 individuals linked to the site were arrested in different parts; however, only 12 of them were charged in the United States.
Some of the major names included in this list comprise of Daniel Placek, creator of Darkode, Johan Anders Gudmunds and an alleged admin. Apart from them, the creator of Facebook Spreador was also found guilty in this case.
Insights On The Matter:
As per the information available with Forbs, one of the people who were charged, in this case, had spent two summers at FireEye Inc (NASDAQ:FEYE) researching on mobile malware as an intern. FireEye is a top-notch cyber security firm in the United States, and has received investment from In-Q-Tel of CIA, Sequoia Capital and Goldman Sachs. FireEye has helped a wide range of small and large scale entities, including Sony Pictures coming out of any security breaches in the past.
Morgan Culbertson, the 20-year old individual who spent a couple of summers at FireEye, has been found guilty of making and selling the Dendroid malware. As per the reports, this malware system was targeted at the operating system of Google. The US Attorney for Pennsylvania confirmed that the accused was the same 20-year old person who interned at FireEye. His social media profile reflects that he was selling the malware during his tenure at FireEye.
As soon as the matter came into light, FireEye Inc (NASDAQ:FEYE) suspended him from all future assignments immediately. The only concern for FireEye is what if Culbertson uses company’s unique research style to hone his malware.
FireEye is a well-known name in the mobile security field with proven track record and expertise. It has reminded from time to time that iPhone, as well as Android, are not as strong as users think.
