Three men arrested over e-mail viruses

Police have arrested three men, one from my own home land of Scotland, on suspicion of being members of a group of hackers, known as M00p. This group has been linked to activities that it is alleged have led to thousands of computers worldwide being infected with viruses. The Scotsman, a 28-year-old, who has not been named, is currently being detained in the Grampian area, and Police have additionally arrested a 62-year-old man in Suffolk and a 19-year-old man in Finland. Computers and other items have been seized as part of the investigation.

It is alleged that M00p have targeted businesses and spread a lot of malware via e-mail. Police contend that the gang have written malware which avoids detection by anti-virus software, and that they have targeted UK businesses since at least 2005. The gang appear to have been assembling botnets - fleets of compromised machines under their control - in order to make illegal gains.

Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at internet security firm Sophos, said the arrests were a "great success" for British police. He said virus writers have become increasingly motivated by money and target valuable personal data such as credit card and bank details.