Botnet hacker pleads guilty

John Schiefer agreed to plead guilty to four federal charges in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles hacker accused of installing malicious software to purposely create an army of botnet computers, so he could steal identities and money will plead guilty to disclosing illegally intercepted electronic communications conduct fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud.

John Schiefer, 26, of Los Angeles, installed the malware on as many as 250,000 computers to conduct fraud. Schiefer is expected to enter the guilty plea next month. He could face up to 60 years in federal prison and a $l.75 million fine.

Prosecutors say people hired Schiefer to fix their computers. Instead they say he and his associates installed a computer code that gave them remote access to computers without the rightful owners' knowledge. The malware would send that relevant information to Schiefer, who used it to access the bank accounts.

The hacker then culled user names, passwords for the PayPal online payment service, and other account information that he used to make unauthorized purchases and passed on to others.

Schiefer, who used the Internet name " acidstorm," is the first person charged under federal wiretapping law with operating a " botnet," or network of compromised computers.

Prosecutors contend that Schiefer also defrauded a Dutch Internet advertising company who hired him to install its programs on people's computers with their permission.