BBC News
December 24, 2013 6:25 PM
A hacker accused of masterminding one of the biggest ever botnets has been sentenced to just under 5 years in jail.
Matjaz Skorjanc was arrested in 2010 after a two-year investigation into malware that had hijacked about 12.7 million computers around the world.
The 27-year-old was found guilty of creating the Mariposa botnet software, assisting others in "wrongdoings" and money laundering.
His lawyer said he would appeal.
In addition to the 58-month jail term, Skorjanc was also ordered to pay a 4,000 euro ($4,100; £2,510) fine and give up a flat and car he was alleged to have bought with money he had received from a Spanish criminal syndicate.
The prosecutors in the case have said they also intended to challenge the Slovenian court's ruling because they had wanted a tougher jail sentence of seven-and-a-half-years.
The former medical student's ex-girlfriend Nusa Coh was also sentenced to eight months probation for money laundering.
For more information, please go to the link below:
Butterfly botnet 'mastermind' jailed http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25506016
