FTC swoops in and smacks down rogue ISP Pricewert

The United States FTC issued a statement today announcing a rare takedown of rogue ISP Pricewert, LLC. (Aliases include 3FN and APS Telecom.)

Besides sounding vaguely like an obscure German-industrial band, Pricewert stands accused of actively recruiting and colluding with cybercriminals to infect computers with spyware, viruses, trojan horses, Jonas Brothers tracks, and according to the FTC statement, pornography containing bestiality, incest, and violence. The FTC alleges that Pricewert advertised its services on the “darkest corners of the internet” (4chan?) and even set up a forum to allow criminals to exchange information more readily.

According to the FTC, Pricewert either ignored take-down requests or moved criminal elements to other IPs to thwart detection. Further dastardly acts cited in the complaint include DOS attacks, botnet deployment and spam distribution.

The FTC have backed up their case with IM transcripts that show senior employees conspiring to configure botnets with bot herders. The court issued a temporary injunction barring upstream providers from enabling the alleged bad guys, and froze Pricewert’s assets pending a hearing on June 15th.