Security firm Finjan has discovered a massive network of remotely controlled PCs, including computers inside the U.K. and U.S. governments.

The network, known in the industry as a botnet, is said to have spread across nearly two million individual machines and looks likely to have originated in the Ukraine. Although figures were patchy, it is believed that several computers within U.K. Government departments were comprised. It is understood that the Metropolitan Police is investigating.

A botnet is a cyber criminals dream. The infected computers that form the net become zombies, awaiting instructions from the people who planted them. All it takes is for one machine to be infected, before it then in-turn infects as many machines as it can, creating the botnet. The zombie computers are then open to attack from all kinds of viruses and malware which have different roles in life.

One job might be to send out phishing emails from the computer users mailbox, enlarging the botnet and causing people to load bogus websites which ask for personal and financial details. Another might be to record keystrokes on a user’s computer which allows the cyber criminals to enter a legimate website, usually financial, and empty an account using the information they have gathered. And they might allow access to a computer’s stored information, including files and operating systems.

In effect, the zombie computer becomes a beachhead for all manner of future attacks.

The cyber criminals behind the attack represent the storm troopers and rather than use the open door themselves, they usually sell the opportunity to others. It has been reported that the hackers behind this botnet were selling access to machines within the botnet at around $100 a time.

The botnet hit worldwide, with around 5% of infected machines being situated in the U.K., including the British Government and one computer inside the BBC.

The network was spotted after routine security checks and rumours of its existence, and marks a new stage of sophistication from the world’s cyber criminals.

Guest Article by Neil Camp