Enlarge / A man stands in front of a picture displaying activities of a so-called “botnet” during a workshop on computer and cyber crimes hosted by the Hessian ministry of justice in Frankfurt am Main, central Germany, on July 31, 2015. (credit: BORIS ROESSLER/AFP/Getty Images)

The man who federal prosecutors say operated the Kelihos botnet has now pleaded guilty.

During a hearing in federal court in Hartford, Connecticut on Wednesday, Peter Yuryevich Levashov admitted guilt in one count of causing intentional damage to a protected computer, one count of conspiracy, one count of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The 38-year-old Russian’s botnet, which dated back to 2010, spanned more than 10,000 machines, and was primarily used to send out spam, steal logins, distribute ransomware, and more. Federal authorities shut it down in 2017.