DDoS-for-hire site DigitalStress taken down by police, suspected owner arrested

It has been revealed that earlier this month a website which offered a DDoS-for-hire service was taken offline by law enforcement, but only after they collected data about its criminal customers.

Anyone visiting DigitalStress's website today will no longer be greeted with messages bragging about its ability to "stress-test networks for ease" for as little as $80 per month, while promising "no logs."

Instead, they will see a landing page that will look familiar to anyone who has visited other cybercriminal sites seized by the authorities as part of "Operation PowerOff".

Part of the message reads:

The National Crime Agency has collected substantial data from those who have accessed this domain. We will share this data with International Law Enforcement for action. Individuals in the UK who engaged with this site will be contacted by Law Enforcement.

Operation PowerOFF will continue to target the DDoS-for-Hire marketplace and ensure that users are being held accountable for their criminal activity.

Operation PowerOff is an ongoing, long term multinational law enforcement operation against "booter" sites that make it simple for anyone to launch a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, making impossible for legitimate users to access a website.

At the same time, police in Northern Ireland arrested a man they suspect of being "Skiop", one of the controllers of the DigitalStress website.

Anyone considering launching a DDoS attack would be wise to take note of this part of the message that the  NCA posted on DigitalStress's now-seized website:

The National Crime Agency has been and may be running more services like this site.

Back in March 2023, UK police revealed that they had actually taken the step of running fake DDoS-for-hire sites in an attempt to collect information about criminals.

As the UK's NCA explains in its press release about the seizure of DigitalStress, it "covertly and overtly accessed communication platforms being used to discuss launching DDoS attacks."

The NCA even took to Telegram, a platform loved by cybercriminals, to warn them "we are watching you."

“We will continue to work tirelessly alongside our law enforcement partners to disrupt the activities of those who use cyber technology to cause damage, whether locally or globally," said Detective Chief Inspector Paul Woods, of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. "Today’s welcome announcement should send a clear message to all cyber criminals that, whatever your motive or means, you are not beyond identification and investigation."