FBI Seizes NightmareStresser DDoS-for-Hire Domains in Operation PowerOFF Crackdown
On Tuesday, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized a domain used by NightmareStresser, one of the world’s longest-running distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) platforms.
Services such as NightmareStresser are often called “booters” or “stressers.” These DDoS-for-hire services allow customers to rent access to botnets made up of compromised routers and Internet of Things (IoT) devices to launch large-scale attacks against online platforms and services.
Before the seizure, the nightmare-stresser[.]com and nightmarestresser[.]com service described itself as the “#1 Online IP Booter” and “The Only DDoS Tool Available 24/7.”
According to cybersecurity company Searchlight Cyber, NightmareStresser had more than 566,000 registered users and 52 dedicated servers in 2023. The service could launch DDoS attacks of up to 200 Gbps against multiple network layers, including Layer 7 application protocols and Layer 4 TCP/UDP protocols.
“Since 2022, the NightmareStresser Booter service has been used to launch hundreds of thousands of actual or attempted DDoS attacks against victims around the world,” the FBI Cyber Division stated on Wednesday.
A seizure banner displayed on the domain says: “This enforcement action was supported by Operation PowerOFF, a coordinated effort among international law enforcement agencies aimed at dismantling criminal DDoS rental infrastructure around the world.”
NightmareStresser previously targeted in 2022
In December 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seized the NightmareStresser[.]com domain and announced the arrest of six suspects believed to own multiple DDoS-for-hire services.
Operation PowerOFF targets DDoS-for-hire services worldwide
Operation PowerOFF is a long-running international law enforcement operation that began in December 2018. As part of the campaign, authorities seized 15 websites linked to DDoS-as-a-service platforms.
Operation PowerOFF has also led to the suspension of the DigitalStress DDoS rental service in the United Kingdom, the seizure of the Dstat.cc DDoS review platform, and the arrest of two stressor service operators in Poland.
In two additional crackdowns, law enforcement seized 13 domains and 48 more domains hosting booter platforms.
Last year, Polish authorities detained four suspects linked to six DDoS-for-hire platforms accused of being responsible for thousands of attacks against schools, government services, businesses, and gaming platforms around the world. A similar coordinated crackdown also resulted in the seizure of nine domains.
Join Mikko Hypponen and security leaders from the NFL, Chanel, and Atlassian for a two-hour digital summit about what will change with AI-speed attacks, what defenders should stop doing, and how to verify, decide, fix, and revalidate at machine speed.
Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com