U.K. National Crime Agency Sets Up Fake DDoS-For-Hire Sites to Catch Cybercriminals

Mar 25, 2023Ravie LakshmananCyber Crime / DDoS Attack

In what’s a case of setting a thief to catch a thief, the U.K.
National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed that it has created a network
of fake DDoS-for-hire websites to infiltrate the online criminal
underground.

“All of the NCA-run sites, which have so far been accessed by
around several thousand people, have been created to look like they
offer the tools and services that enable cyber criminals to execute
these attacks,” the law enforcement agency said^[1].

“However, after users register, rather than being given access
to cyber crime tools, their data is collated by investigators.”

The effort is part of an ongoing international joint effort
called Operation PowerOFF in collaboration with authorities from
the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and Europol aimed at
dismantling criminal DDoS-for-hire infrastructures worldwide.

DDoS-for-hire (aka “Booter” or “Stresser”) services rent out
access to a network of infected devices to other criminal actors
seeking to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks
against websites and force them offline.

Such illegal platforms offer a range of membership options,
charging their clientele anywhere between $10 to $2,500 per
month.

“Their ease of access means these tools and services have made
it easier for people with low level cyber skills to commit
offences,” the NCA noted^[2]
back in December 2022, when a coordinated exercise led to the
dismantling of 48 booter sites^[3].

The NCA said it will not reveal the number of sites it’s
operating so that individuals who plan on using such services in
the future will have to consider if it’s worth the risk.

“Booter services are a key enabler of cyber crime,” Alan
Merrett, a member of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, said in a
statement.

“The perceived anonymity and ease of use afforded by these
services means that DDoS has become an attractive entry-level
crime, allowing individuals with little technical ability to commit
cyber offences with ease.”

This is not the first time law enforcement agencies have
stealthily operated fake services to combat criminal activity in
the digital sphere.

In June 2021, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and
Australian Federal Police (AFP) revealed that they ran an encrypted chat service called
ANoM^[5] for nearly three years
to intercept 27 million messages exchanged between criminal gang
members globally.