Oleg Nikolaenko

Oleg Yegorovich Nikolaenko (; born July 17, 1987) is a Russian computer criminal who created the Mega-D botnet, violating the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Federal investigators believe his activities may have been responsible for as much as one third of the world's electronic spam.

Background Oleg Nikolaenko, a resident of Vidnoye, Moscow Oblast, Russia, was identified as the "King of Spam" by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. He is suspected of running the "Mega-D" botnet to create a "zombie network" of as many as 500,000 infected computers. Investigators stated that his operation was responsible for producing up to 10 billion unsolicited e-mails per day,

Investigation Nikolaenko had been in the United States to attend the 2009 SEMA auto show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The FBI got a break in the case in August 2009, when Jody M. Smith pleaded guilty in Missouri to selling counterfeit Rolex watches. However, the Constitution of Russia specifically prohibits the extradition of its citizens. By the end of 2009, Nikolaenko was able to restore capacity to generate 17% of worldwide spam.

Arrest and legal proceedings

Nikolaenko returned to Las Vegas to attend the 2010 SEMA Show and was apprehended by federal agents at the Bellagio Hotel on November 4. He was found with two passports and $4,000 cash. Nikolaenko was transported to face charges in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where an undercover agent ordered Viagra from an alleged e-mail spam and instead received herbal pills.

Nikolaenko was indicted on November 16 at the U.S. District Court of Eastern Wisconsin and faced up to five years in prison. Information was redacted for the protection of witnesses. The trial was scheduled to begin by February 11, 2011, but later was adjourned.

In June 2012, Nikolaenko agreed to a plea deal. On February 27, 2013, he was sentenced to time served plus three years of probation.

The M86 Security company stated that spam output from Nikolaenko's Mega-D botnet fell below 5% of the worldwide total by December 2010. According to information technology experts, Mega-D is no longer considered a very large network, though it may have been the largest designed specifically for spam.