Bulgarian Man Pleads Not Guilty in Malware Scheme

PITTSBURGH (AP) —

A Bulgarian man has pleaded not guilty to federal charges in Pennsylvania that he used sophisticated malware designed to steal banking credentials and other confidential information from infected computers.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that 44-year-old Krasimir Nikolov of Varna, Bulgaria, gained access to victims’ online bank accounts and transferred funds or tried to do so.

Nikolov waived his detention hearing Thursday and will remain jailed until his trial.

Prosecutors said the malware operation was part of the Avalanche network, which authorities say had operated since at least 2010 and infected at least 500,000 computers worldwide before it was dismantled by federal and international authorities last month.

Nikolov’s attorney hasn’t commented on charges of criminal conspiracy, unauthorized access of a computer to obtain financial information and bank fraud.

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