The Latest: Man accused of selling malware gets 15 years

ATLANTA (AP) — The Latest on the sentencing of a man who created malware used to drain bank accounts (all times local):

5 p.m.

A man who prosecutors say sold a malware program called SpyEye used to steal financial information has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Hamza Bendelladj, an Algerian who used the online alias "Bx1," was sentenced Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Atlanta.

Earlier in the day, Aleksandr Andreevich Panin, also known by the online aliases "Gribodemon" and "Harderman," was sentenced to 9 ½ years in prison. He's accused of creating SpyEye and selling it through cybercrime forums online.

Prosecutors say SpyEye was the pre-eminent malware from 2010 to 2012 and was used to infect more than 50 million computers and cause nearly $1 billion in damage.

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3:20 p.m.

The Russian creator of a computer program that authorities say has been used to drain bank accounts in multiple countries has been sentenced to serve 9 ½ years in federal prison.

Aleksandr Andreevich Panin, also known by the online aliases "Gribodemon" and "Harderman," was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Atlanta. He's accused of creating the malware program SpyEye and selling it through cybercrime forums online.

A second man, Hamza Bendelladj, an Algerian who used the online alias "Bx1," will be sentenced Wednesday afternoon. Prosecutors said he sold versions of SpyEye online and used the malware to steal financial information.

Prosecutors say SpyEye was the pre-eminent malware from 2010 to 2012 and was used to infect more than 50 million computers and cause nearly $1 billion in damage.