South Australian police have arrested a 20-year old man from Adelaide on charges of infecting 3000 computers worldwide with Trojan malware capable of capturing banking credentials and credit card information from compromised machines.
The arrest was made following a three-month investigation by electronic crime units from SA Police and the Australian Federal force.
The 20-year old was charged with unauthorised modification of computer data, supply and possession of a computer virus with intent to commit a serious computer offence, unlawful operation of a computer system, theft and trafficking a controlled substance.
Alongside the malware charges, it is alleged that the individual had developed capabilities to launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks with up to 74,000 computers world wide.
He will appear before Adelaide Magistrates Court on 4 September. Penalties for offences of this nature range from between two-years to ten-years in prison, say the police in a statement.