A major spam operation has been busted when MacKeeper Security Researcher, Chris Vickery in cooperation with CSO Online and Spamhaus “stumbled upon a suspicious, yet publicly exposed, collection of files. Someone had forgotten to put a password on this repository and, as a result, one of the biggest spam empires is now falling.”

The spamming group is called River City Media (RCM) and was led by well known spammers Alvin Slocombe and Matt Ferris.

The leaked files totaled 1.4 billion records and included email accounts combined with real names, user IP addresses, and often physical address. The database is thought to have been amassed though “offers such as credit checks, education opportunities, and sweepstakes.”

The group is alleged to have sent out 1 billion spam email per day. Vickery said: “Think about that for a second. How can a group of about a dozen people be responsible for one billion emails sent in one day?”

“I say illegal hacking due to the presence of scripts and logs enumerating the groups' many missions to probe and exploit vulnerable mail servers. The following chat log, found among the backups, is just one example of River City Media crew members admitting to exploitative behaviour.”

"Normally it takes a legal process for law enforcement to get the identity behind an IP address or email account. Now we know that lists as large as 1.4 billion exist that make it possible to bypass legal protections. Anyone looking to harass, harm, or even locate an individual would find such a list invaluable."

Law enforcement have been notified and are reported to have “expressed interest in the matter.”

Source: SCMagazine