Kaspersky slams Facebook for exposing Koobface hackers

An internet security firm has criticised Facebook for releasing details of the alleged members of a gang behind the Koobface worm, a piece of malicious software that attacked hundreds of thousands of computers through the social network's profiles.

In an unusual step in January, Facebook named six Russian men it said had been running the two million dollar scam against its members for the past three years.

It published photographs of the group and pinpointed their office in central St Petersburg, saying it had acted out of frustration at the fact that law enforcement agencies had apparently failed to investigate the Koobface gang. The anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab has criticised Facebook's strategy, saying the attempted naming and shaming of the gang will probably mean they will never be arrested for their alleged crimes.