Europol coordinated Operation PowerOFF on 17 April 2026, bringing together 21 national law enforcement agencies in a global crackdown on DDoS-for-hire services. The action resulted in four arrests, the seizure of 53 domains, 25 search warrants, and access to a database containing more than three million criminal user accounts. Authorities sent warning emails and letters to over 75,000 suspected customers of booter services and placed ads on search engines warning that using such tools is a criminal offence. In a parallel action, the US Department of Justice seized eight DDoS-for-hire sites including Vac Stresser and Mythical Stress, which together claimed to launch tens of thousands of attacks per day. Europol describes DDoS-for-hire as one of the most prolific and accessible cybercrime trends, enabling individuals with no technical knowledge to execute large-scale attacks against businesses, hospitals and public services. The operation targeted attacks on government agencies, schools, gaming platforms and critical infrastructure including US Department of Defense resources.
Partnered with
European Network of Law Enforcement Technology Services
Saturday, April 18, 2026