Page 48 - Cyber Warnings

Deterrence

The posts from the dark0de forum entered into evidence regarding both co-defendants spoke
the loudest on the issue of deterrence. There was a time when SpyEye was outselling ZeuS,
the king of all malware kits. In their time, both Panin and Bendelladj were praised for their
talents and how they applied them, lauded for their successes, and viewed as heroes and role
models among the members of one of the largest communities of the most dangerous
cybercriminals on the planet.

The fact that many commented on the arrest of "bx1" (Bendelladj) showed that the
cybercriminals were paying close attention to his fate.

Panin was seen as a prodigy. No evidence was presented that he actually stole anything, and
many malware authors feel shielded from prosecution for what amounts to the manufacture of
cyberweapons as long as that's their sole source of income.

In both instances, stiff sentences had extraordinary potential as deterrents. Of course, the
degree of effectiveness of these types of deterrents, especially in cybercrime cases where
perpetrators may enjoy a greater sense of impunity and isolation from victims, is a perennial
debate. However, it's clear that the lack of a significant sentence would send an unequivocal
message to those that might seek to fill the void left by the takedown of the SpyEye triad.

Outcome

Panin was sentenced first, after Bendelladj was removed from the courtroom. He was
sentenced to 114 months (nine and a half years) followed by three years of supervised release.
After his release, he will likely be deported back to Russia, in which case the stipulations of
supervised release won't mater.

After a 30-minute break for another hearing, Bendelladj was returned to the courtroom and
sentenced to 180 months (fifteen years). He also received three years of supervised release,
but will likely be deported back to Algeria or Malaysia instead.

The consensus among the parties involved in the case is that the sentences were fair and sent
the right message.

Damballa's Role

The US Department of Justice issued a public statement regarding the case and sentencing in
which they thank Damballa for their assistance. That statement can be found here:

48 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – May 2016 Edition
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