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IPStorm botnet dismantlement

November 2023, Malware and botnets
Led by Federal Bureau of Investigation

Extended pass entry, last reviewed August 21, 2026

What was taken down?

Botnet infrastructure dismantled in connection with the criminal prosecution.

See what happened

What happened to the people?

Officials reported 1 convicted.
1 convicted named in the public record.
Group accounted for: Likely complete

See people and accountability

Did it stay down?

Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry.

See what happened afterward

DOJ/FBI announced dismantlement of the IPStorm botnet, which had infected tens of thousands of computers and network devices across several continents, alongside developer Sergei Makinin's guilty plea.

Date
November 2023
Target
IPStorm, botnet
Activity
Malware and botnets
Operational lead
FBI
Partners
DOJ[1]
Jurisdiction
Not established
Outcome
Botnet infrastructure dismantled in connection with the criminal prosecution.
Status
Completed
Legal mechanism
Federal criminal prosecution and guilty plea; DOJ CCIPS.
Group accounted for
Likely complete

1
convicted

Named in the public record: 1 convicted.

Figures count individuals named in charging documents and official statements, each person once per outcome. People alleged to be involved but not publicly identified are not counted.

Reported and named. Officials reported 1 convicted. 1 convicted named in the public record. The two figures come from different places and are never added together. Officials publish a headline total, and this index counts only the individuals it can name from the cited record.
Person Role Current public status
Developer of IPStorm Pleaded guilty
Charging authority
Not established in the public record
Main charges
Not established in the public record
Case number
Not established in the public record
Arresting authority
Not established in the public record
Arrest location
Not established in the public record
Extradition status
Not established in the public record
Conviction or plea
Pleaded guilty, November 1, 2023
Sentence
Not established in the public record
Segment
Core operator
Sources
[1]
Full record
Everything indexed for Sergei Makinin

Sergei Makinin

Developer of IPStorm. Current public status: Pleaded guilty.

Charging authority
Not established in the public record
Main charges
Not established in the public record
Case number
Not established in the public record
Arresting authority
Not established in the public record
Arrest location
Not established in the public record
Extradition status
Not established in the public record
Conviction or plea
Pleaded guilty, November 1, 2023
Sentence
Not established in the public record
Segment
Core operator
Sources
[1]
Full record
Everything indexed for Sergei Makinin

Rows expand to show charging authority, case identifiers, custody status, and sources.

Group accounted for: Likely complete

Sole developer identified, prosecuted, and pleaded guilty.

See the organizations and roles behind this action

Not established in the public record. No later activity is recorded against this entry.

Numbered markers throughout this entry link to the source that supports the claim beside them.

Official sources

  1. [1]
    IPStorm botnet developer pleads guilty; botnet dismantled

    US DOJ CCIPS, November 1, 2023, Source grade P1

    Establishes the IPStorm dismantlement and Makinin's guilty plea.

    No address recorded for this source. Publisher, title, and date are given so it can be retrieved from the publisher.

Coverage note. Added from deep-research aggregation pass. Not independently re-verified source-by-source to the same standard as the original 38-incident core; source_quality capped at S2/P2 pending a dedicated verification pass.