MADRID, SPAIN: Spanish police and Europol, the European Union's police co-ordination agency, have bust a global cybercrime operation that infected millions of computers, a source in the investigation told AFP.
The network used malicious software to block computers and send a message claiming to be from the police demanding the user pays a fine for allegedly accessing child pornography sites, the source said.
The ring operated several small cells around the world and was able to collect large amounts of money, the source said.
"One of these cells earned over a million euros," the source said.
Several people were arrested but the final number could not yet be revealed because the operation remained open.
Europol director Rob Wainwright and Spain's secretary of state for security, Francisco Martinez, were due to release details on Tuesday (12 February) in Madrid.
Last month Europol opened a new cybercrime unit at its headquarters in The Hague aimed at fighting online offences such as bank fraud and peddling child pornography images
Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge