If you were a big buyer of DDoS attacks, you may be in trouble. Police in Europe plan to go after customers of Webstresser.org, a major DDoS-for-hire website it shut down last year
On Monday, Europol said it was closing in on more than 250 customers of Webstresser.org and other DDoS-for-hire services. "Actions are currently underway worldwide to track down the users of these Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks," the agency added.
In April, Europol shut down Webstresser.org for letting buyers knock websites offline. For as little as $18.99 a month, the site offered access to DDoS attacks, which can overwhelm an IP address or website with enough internet traffic to disrupt access to it.
Webstresser.org was believed to be the world's largest market for DDoS-for-hire services, according to Europol. Before its shutdown, the site helped launch 4 million attacks. It had also attracted 151,000 registered users under the guise of selling "server stress testing" services.
Now all those customers are in danger of facing potential prosecution. That's because authorities have uncovered a "trove of information" on Webstresser.org's users.
"In the United Kingdom, a number of webstresser.org users have recently been visited by the police," Europol said in its announcement. "UK police are also conducting a number of live operations against other DDoS criminals."
Although police have typically focused on targeting the sellers of DDoS attacks, Europol said law enforcement is ramping up activities to crack down on buyers as well. Last month, US federal investigators also warned they were going after customers of DDoS-for-hire websites.
"Whether you launch the DDoS attack or hire a DDoS service to do it for you, the FBI considers it criminal activity," FBI Assistant Director Matthew Gorham said in December. "Working with our industry and law enforcement partners, the FBI will identify and potentially prosecute you for this activity."