Infoworld is repeating the [a href="http://www.valleywag.com/tech/alan-ralsky/scoop-doj-jails-spam-king-alan-ralsky-might-rat-out-a-massive-hacker-spammer-network-170385.php"]rumours[/a] that [a href="http://weblog.infoworld.com/techwatch/archives/006143.html"]Alan 'spam king' Ralsky has been arrested[/a] by the Feds. With the file sealed for 72 hours, the article claims the underworld is abuzz with concern that, faced with enough evidence to put him in jail, Ralsky will squeal on his associates. We should know in the next couple of days whether any of the roaches scurrying for cover are going to get stomped. (Alan Ralsky, for those of you who haven't heard of him, is the world's self-proclaimed "[a href="http://www.spamhaus.org/rokso/listing.lasso?-op=cn&spammer=Alan%20Ralsky"]SPAM King[/a]", and is one of the [a href="http://www.thenetworkadministrator.com/AlanRalskyKingofSpam.htm"]puke-bags[/a] who's been filling your Inbox with ads for penis pills and fake Rolex watches.)
[hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"]April 28, 2006 [h3 class="ArtTitle"]Hackers quaking over reported Spam King's arrest[/h3][a href="http://weblog.infoworld.com/techwatch/archives/cat_security.html"][/a] [span class="artText"]According to an [a href="http://www.valleywag.com/tech/alan-ralsky/scoop-doj-jails-spam-king-alan-ralsky-might-rat-out-a-massive-hacker-spammer-network-170385.php"]unconfirmed report[/a], spam king Alan Ralsky has been arrested by federal law enforcement and is being held pending the release of a sealed indictment against him. [/p] The problem: Ralsky apparently has the goods on a wide swath of the hacker underground, and folks there are really worried he's gonna spill the beans to the feds in return for a lesser sentence. [/p] Ralsky is a [a href="http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/spam/story/0,13427,984092,00.html"]near legend[/a] in the spam community -- the subject of a raft of lawsuits from Verizon and others for his shameless spamming activity. MOre recently the feds have been closing in. His home in Michigan was [a href="http://www.detnews.com/2005/technology/0510/16/B01-349738.htm"]raided back in October[/a]. And rumor has it that a datacenter Ralsky used was raided a couple weeks back. [/p] A DOJ official contacted by InfoWorld said he hadn't heard of the arrest and I'm waiting for more official comment. But according to "Memehacker," the underworld hacking scene is all abuzz about the arrest and indictment. [/p] "We are worried that he will strike a deal, out the network for a reduced sentence/immunity" he told IW via instant messenger. [/p] "They have the top guy, now they want the people doing the work," he wrote. [/p] Ralsky's tentacles strectched far beyond the spamming scene, the thinking goes -- in his quest to make dough, he made connections across the underworld. [/p] "He knows stuff that has nothing to do with spamming. It's just knowledge," he wrote. [/p] According to the rumors, the Federal indictment against Ralsky is sealed for 72 hours, after which we might learn a lot more about what the govt. knows about his activities -- and the shockwaves may be felt across the Internet. [/p] Stay tuned....[/p][/span]
