Operation PowerOFF

Operation PowerOFF is an ongoing joint operation by the FBI, EUROPOL, the Dutch National Police Corps, German Federal Criminal Police Office , Poland Cybercrime Police and the UK National Crime Agency to close "booter/stresser" services offering DDoS attack services for hire.[1] Beginning in 2022, the operation shut down 48 websites offering DDoS services, and six people were arrested in the United States.[2] Multiple companies, including Cloudflare, PayPal, and DigitalOcean provided information to the FBI to assist in the seizure.

Seizure message placed on DDoS websites after raid

History

In 2018, the FBI closed down 15 DDoS websites with the Dutch National Police Corps.[3] On December 14, resuming this collaboration, the FBI and Department of Justice announced that they had closed multiple websites offering DDoS-for-hire services.[4] The FBI claimed that these websites offered services designed to slow down websites relating to gaming.[5] The FBI also noted that these services had heavy use, claiming that "Quantum", one of the seized services, was used to launch 50,000 attacks. After the shutdown, multiple law enforcement agencies collaborating with the FBI declared they would place advertisements on search engines, such as Google, that would educate the public on the legality of DDoS services.[6]

Aftermath

Six US citizens were indicted by FBI offices in California and Alaska. Three of the people arrested were from Florida, one from Texas, one from Hawaii, and one from New York.[7] The FBI asks that users with information related to the attacks contact their offices for tips and information related to the seized sites.[8]

Ongoing activity

As of May 2023, Operation PowerOFF activities were still ongoing, with further websites being seized and prosecutions continuing.[9]

References
  1. "Federal Prosecutors in Los Angeles and Alaska Charge 6 Defendants with Operating Websites that Offered Computer Attack Services". www.justice.gov. December 14, 2022.
  2. Paganini, Pierluigi (December 15, 2022). "FBI seized 48 domains linked to DDoS-for-Hire service platforms". Security Affairs.
  3. "Criminal Charges Filed in Los Angeles and Alaska in Conjunction with Seizures Of 15 Websites Offering DDoS-For-Hire Services". www.justice.gov. December 20, 2018.
  4. Muncaster, Phil (December 15, 2022). "Feds Hit DDoS-for-Hire Services with 48 Domain Seizures". Infosecurity Magazine.
  5. "Six Charged in Mass Takedown of DDoS-for-Hire Sites – Krebs on Security". 14 December 2022.
  6. "US seizes 48 websites used for DDoS attacks". My Broad Band. Bloomberg. 15 December 2022.
  7. Jessica Lyons (7 December 2022). "Microsoft: (Cyber) winter is coming as DDoS attack disrupts Russian bank". MSN. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  8. "The FBI and International Law Enforcement Partners Intensify Efforts to Combat Illegal DDoS Attacks". Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  9. Muncaster, Phil (2023-05-09). "Operation Power Off: 13 More Booter Sites Seized". Infosecurity Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
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