Prosecutor release

# MANHATTAN U.S. ATTORNEY CHARGES SEVEN INDIVIDUALS FOR ENGINEERING SOPHISTICATED INTERNET FRAUD SCHEME THAT INFECTED MILLIONS OF COMPUTERS WORLDWIDE AND MANIPULATED INTERNET ADVERTISING BUSINESS

United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, November 9, 2011. DNSChanger / Operation Ghost Click: charges against six Estonian nationals and one Russian national, the six arrests in Estonia by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, Andrey Taame remaining at large, the ISC court-appointed replacement DNS servers, and the FBI and NASA OIG investigative roles.

**Source type:** Prosecutor release

**Published:** November 9, 2011

**Research grade:** P1

**Used in entries:** 3

## Bibliographic record

**Publisher:** United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York

**Published:** November 9, 2011

**Source type:** Prosecutor release

**Research grade:** Source grade P1

**Language:** English

**Official record:** Official publication

**Address:** [https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nys/pressreleases/November11/tsastsinetalindictmentpr.pdf](https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nys/pressreleases/November11/tsastsinetalindictmentpr.pdf)

**What it supports:** DNSChanger / Operation Ghost Click: charges against six Estonian nationals and one Russian national, the six arrests in Estonia by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, Andrey Taame remaining at large, the ISC court-appointed replacement DNS servers, and the FBI and NASA OIG investigative roles

**Dataset id:** src\_usao\_sdny\_dnschanger\_2011

## Research notes

- Subtitle on the release: 'Malware Secretly Re-Routed More than Four Million Computers, Generating at Least $14 Million in Fraudulent Advertising Fees for the Defendants'.
- The filename ('tsastsinetalindictmentpr.pdf') refers to the indictment, but the document itself is the U.S. Attorney's press release announcing it, not the indictment.
- Announced jointly by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk and NASA Inspector General Paul Martin.
- Distinct from the existing record src\_fbi\_dnschanger\_2011, which carries the FBI New York archives copy of the same announcement.

How this source is used

Cited 3 times across 2 record types.

The role on each citation records what the source was relied on for. A primary source establishes the fact, a supporting source corroborates it, technical evidence describes the infrastructure, and a later outcome records what happened afterwards.

Sources were reviewed to a research cutoff of August 23, 2026. Addresses recorded after that date are not reflected here.

## Cited by

### Takedown records

1 citation

Cited on the takedown record itself.

-
[Operation Ghost Click](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/operation-ghost-click)

Malware and botnets, November 2011

Supporting source

### Organization roles

2 citations

Cited for an organization's recorded role in a takedown.

-
[National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Inspector General](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/operation-ghost-click)

Investigating, Operation Ghost Click

Primary source
-
[Estonian Police and Border Guard Board](https://takedownindex.org/takedowns/operation-ghost-click)

Arresting, Operation Ghost Click

Primary source

[All sources](https://takedownindex.org/sources)