[3] In 2014, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested hundreds of people who had Blackshade in their computer.
[8] In 2013, Cassidy Wolf was a victim of sextortion, after photographs of her were hacked and used in an attempt to blackmail her after being Miss Teen USA 2013.
[9][10][11] The FBI ran a probe after Wolf reported a threatening email demanding a 'special performance' for the hacker, whom she suspected to be Jared James Abrahams, her former high school classmate.
[citation needed] In November 2013, Abrahams pleaded guilty to hacking over 100-150 women and installing the highly invasive malware Blackshades on their computers in order to obtain nude images and videos of them.
[13] Legal scholar Star Kashman speculates that Abrahams used the technique of Google Dorking to find and target Cassidy Wolf's webcam online, leading to the act of sextortion.
[4][15] In 2014, the FBI coordinated a worldwide operation to combat the use of the malware, leading to the arrest of almost one hundred people in nineteen countries.