Are you being spied on? Has your personal information been seized? <br /><br />They are questions all computer users can ask themselves with news that around 100 people in at least 16 countries have been arrested as part of an FBI-coordinated global crackdown on cybercrime.<br /><br />It has targeted spying software called the Blackshades Remote Access Tool or RAT.<br /><br />“For just 40 dollars, the Blackshades RAT enabled anyone, anywhere in the world, to instantly become a dangerous cybercriminal – able to steal your property and invade your privacy,” a news conference in New York was told by Preet Bharara, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. <br /><br />“Once installed on a victim’s computer, the Blackshades RAT allowed users to remotely and secretly gain access to everything on a victim’s computer, including private photographs and documents and even passwords to online accounts.”<br /><br />Over half a million computers have been hacked. Blackshades even allows snoopers to activate webcams to spy on victims in their own homes.<br /><br />Earlier this year, an 18-year-old man was detained in the Netherlands, accused of infecting 2,000 computers with the malware and using webcams to take pictures of women and girls.
