A coalition of global law enforcement agencies has sent warning emails and letters to more than 75,000 alleged cybercriminals accused of paying for services used to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks capable of knocking websites offline. The action formed part of a coordinated enforcement effort announced by Europol on Thursday against several DDoS-for-hire platforms.
Operation PowerOFF Targets For-Hire Attack Services
The operation, known as Operation PowerOFF, focused on services that allow users to carry out cyberattacks without needing hacking skills or maintaining their own infrastructure. Europol said the campaign targeted several such platforms and sought to identify people suspected of using them.
Investigators said information on the alleged users was obtained after raids and seizures of servers linked to the services. That material, Europol said, allowed police to identify registered users connected to the platforms.
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Raids, Arrests and Domain Takedowns Follow
The enforcement action resulted in four arrests, the takedown of 53 domains and the execution of 24 search warrants. The campaign combined disruption of infrastructure with direct outreach to people suspected of having used the services.
Europol said the warning emails and letters were sent to more than 75,000 individuals as part of the broader operation. The move underlined a strategy aimed not only at dismantling technical infrastructure but also at putting suspected users on notice.
DDoS Threat Remains Persistent
DDoS attacks remain a common form of disruption in part because they are relatively easy to carry out through for-hire services. The appeal of such platforms lies in their ability to let users launch attacks without advanced technical capability.
The scale of the threat has remained significant. Last year, Cloudflare said it mitigated what it described as the largest DDoS attack to date, which reached a peak of 29.7 terabits per second. In recent years, the FBI has also carried out several operations against DDoS-for-hire services.
