Reports have surfaced that a portal offering DDoS-for-hire services got dismantled by authorities earlier this month after compiling information on its unlawful clientele.
Visitors to the DigitalStress platform today will find no traces of its previous boasts about network “stress-testing” services starting at $80 monthly, accompanied by assurances of “no data retention.”
Instead, they will be met with a familiar landing page reminiscent of other cybercrime websites seized in the course of Operation PowerOff.
A section of the message states:
The National Crime Agency has amassed significant data on individuals who interacted with this domain. This information will be shared with global law enforcement for necessary measures. Individuals in the UK linked to this site will face legal repercussions.
Efforts under Operation PowerOff will persist in dismantling the DDoS-for-Hire network and ensuring accountability for illicit engagements.
Operation PowerOff represents an ongoing, extensive multinational enforcement operation targeting “booter” sites enabling the launch of DDoS attacks, rendering legitimate website access impossible.
Simultaneously, authorities in Northern Ireland apprehended an individual believed to be “Skiop,” a controller associated with the DigitalStress platform.
Individuals contemplating DDoS attacks should heed the warning embedded in the NCA’s message on the now-seized DigitalStress site:
The National Crime Agency has already operated and may plan more services akin to this platform.
As per a March 2023 disclosure from UK police, efforts were taken to run fictitious DDoS-for-hire platforms to gather intelligence on cybercriminals.
According to the NCA’s official statement on seizing DigitalStress, they “clandestinely monitored and intercepted communication channels discussing potential DDoS attacks.”
The NCA even employed Telegram, a favored platform among cyber offenders, to caution them that “surveillance is active.”
“We will persist in collaborating closely with our law enforcement counterparts to disrupt the operations of those abusing cyber technologies, whether on a local or global scale,” communicated Detective Chief Inspector Paul Woods from the Police Service of Northern Ireland. “The positive development today sends a robust message to all cyber offenders that, regardless of your intentions or actions, you are traceable and subject to investigation.”
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