US Shuts Down 15 Internet Domains That Provided Global Hacking Services - DoJ

23:17 GMT, 20 December 2018

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US authorities have taken control of three internet domains and filed charges against three defendants who ran the platforms, which sold denial-of-service computer attack services, the Department of Justice announced in a press release on Thursday.

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The sites, which offered what are often called "booter" or "stresser" services, allowed paying users to launch powerful distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attacks that flood targeted computers with information and prevent them from being able to access the internet, the release said.

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"Booter services such as those named in this action allegedly cause attacks on a wide array of victims in the United States and abroad, including financial institutions, universities, internet service providers, government systems, and various gaming platforms," the release said.

The services offered easy access to attack infrastructure, payment options that included Bitcoin, and were relatively low cost, the release said. Each service was tested by the FBI, which verified those DDoS attack services offered through each of the seized websites.

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The seizure was accompanied by criminal complaints against three people, including David Bukoski, who operated Quantum Stresser, one of the longest-running DDoS services in operation, according to the release.

Also arrested were Matthew Gatrel and Juan Martinez for running services known as Downthem and Ampnode, the release said. Between October 2014 and November 2018, Downthem’s database showed over 2,000 customer subscriptions, and had been used to conduct or attempt to conduct over 200,000 DDoS attacks.