The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced the seizure of 13 domains associated with distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks in its third wave of attacks against booter or stressor services. The latest seizure is part of Operation PowerOFF, an international campaign aimed at disrupting online platforms allowing anyone to launch massive DDoS attacks against any target for a fee.
Furthermore, the FBI also targeted stressor services in December 2022, seizing 48 domains, but 10 previously disrupted platforms re-registered under new domains, enabling them to remain online. The DoJ said 10 of the 13 domains seized in the latest operation are reincarnations of services that were taken offline in the previous sweep.
Additionally, the FBI tested the booter services linked to the domains seized by renewing accounts with them and assessing the effects on target computers via DDoS attacks. These tests confirmed the functionality of the booters.
Four defendants charged in late 2022 also admitted earlier this year to federal charges related to involvement in or operation of some of the targeted booter services. The commitment to targeting these platforms continues despite some previously taken down domains resurfacing.
DDoS attacks flood targeted computers with information and prevent them from accessing the internet, disconnect them from established connections, or cause other similar damage.
The recent seizures highlight the dangers of these attacks and demonstrate the resolve of the authorities to prevent them.
