The world’s biggest hub for DDoS attacks has been shut down
Digitalstress has been seized
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The entity suspected of being the world’s largest Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)-service provider (also known as a ‘booter’) has been shut down, and its administrator arrested, law enforcement sources have said.
The shutdown of Digitalstress.su, as well as the arrest, were made by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), together with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“This is an old Soviet Union domain which many criminal services use in the belief that it presents a barrier for law enforcement agencies to carry out effective investigations,” the NCA said. “The NCA’s activity however has shown that such domains are vulnerable and can be exploited to stop criminal activity and identify those responsible.”
Seizing comms channels
Digitalstress was responsible for “thousands” of DDoS attacks every week, The Register reports. The administrator, who hasn’t been named just yet (possibly because they’re underaged) was arrested on July 2.
Following the takedown (codenamed Operation PowerOff), the website was defaced, and replaced with a message from the authorities.
“The National Crime Agency has collected substantial data from those who have accessed this domain. We will share this data with International Law Enforcement for action. Individuals in the UK who engaged with this site will be contacted by Law Enforcement,” the message reads.
Besides taking down the site and arresting the person in charge, the police have also seized all communications channels of the booter and are currently analyzing the data found there, it was said. This could lead to further investigations, apparently.
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“Booter services are an attractive entry-level cyber crime, allowing individuals with little technical ability to commit cyber offenses with ease,” Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, toldThe Register.
“Anyone using these services while our mirror site was in place has now made themselves known to law enforcement agencies around the world. Although traditional site takedowns and arrests are key elements of law enforcement’s response to this threat, we are at the forefront of developing innovative tools and techniques which can be used as part of a sustained program of activity to disrupt and undermine cybercriminal services and protect people in the UK.
“Our operations continue to demonstrate that criminals online can have no assurance of anonymity or impunity.”
ViaTheRegister
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Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.
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