December 11, 2024 By Bill Toulas
Law enforcement agencies from 15 countries have taken 27 DDoS-for-hire services offline, also known as "booters" or "stressers," arrested three administrators, and identified 300 customers of the platforms.
The action is part of 'Operation PowerOFF,' an international initiative to combat cybercrime, specifically distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
DDoS-for-hire services are platforms that utilize botnets on compromised devices to launch attacks on behalf of paying customers against online targets of their choice.
These attacks can cause service outages and business disruption to the targets, especially during the peak holiday season, where they can disrupt the increased online shopping.
"This multifaceted operation, coordinated by Europol and involving 15 countries, targeted all levels of those engaged in this crime," reads a press release from Europol.
"Three administrators behind these illicit platforms were arrested, and several actions were taken against numerous users of these services."