Operation PowerOFF Warns 75,000 DDoS-for-Hire Users and Takes Down 53 Domains
Summary
Operation PowerOFF, supported by Europol and authorities in 21 countries, warned more than 75,000 DDoS-for-hire users, arrested four people, took 53 domains offline, and launched prevention measures.
Key points
- Authorities in 21 countries coordinated the operation with Europol's support.
- More than 75,000 users of DDoS-for-hire platforms received warnings by email or letter.
- Authorities arrested four people, took 53 domains offline, and issued 25 search warrants.
- The operation disrupted booter services that rent DDoS capacity, often using compromised routers and IoT devices.
- Previous phases seized databases containing more than 3 million criminal accounts.
- Prevention measures include awareness campaigns, removal of more than 100 promotional URLs from search results, and on-chain payment warning messages.
Article Details
- Event Type
- International law enforcement operation targeting DDoS-for-hire platforms and their users.
- Impact
- Operation PowerOFF, supported by Europol and coordinated across 21 countries, warned more than 75,000 users by email and letter, arrested four people, took 53 domains offline, and issued 25 search warrants. Earlier phases seized databases containing more than 3 million criminal accounts. The operation is entering a prevention phase that includes awareness campaigns, search ads, removing more than 100 URLs promoting illegal services from search results, and on-chain payment warning messages.
MITRE ATT&CK
Countries
AustraliaThe operation has a global span, and includes multiple European Union countries as well as Australia, Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Brazil.BrazilThe operation has a global span, and includes multiple European Union countries as well as Australia, Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Brazil.JapanThe operation has a global span, and includes multiple European Union countries as well as Australia, Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Brazil.ThailandThe operation has a global span, and includes multiple European Union countries as well as Australia, Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Brazil.United KingdomThe operation has a global span, and includes multiple European Union countries as well as Australia, Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Brazil.United StatesThe operation has a global span, and includes multiple European Union countries as well as Australia, Thailand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Brazil.