{"id":621756,"date":"2023-03-25T09:49:07","date_gmt":"2023-03-25T14:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/25\/national-crime-agency-sting-operation-infiltrates-cyber-crime-market\/"},"modified":"2023-03-25T09:49:07","modified_gmt":"2023-03-25T14:49:07","slug":"national-crime-agency-sting-operation-infiltrates-cyber-crime-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/25\/national-crime-agency-sting-operation-infiltrates-cyber-crime-market\/","title":{"rendered":"National Crime Agency sting operation infiltrates cyber crime market"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/NCA-National-Crime-Agency-UK-building-2-adobe-hero_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" data-credit=\"William - stock.adobe.com\"  width=\"520\" height=\"173\" alt><\/p>\n<p>William &#8211; stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"content-header\">\n<h2>The UK National Crime Agency has tricked thousands of potential cyber criminals into registering with a fake website pretending to offer tools for creating DDoS attacks<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content-center\">\n<ul>\n<li><i data-icon=\"1\"><\/i><\/li>\n<li><i data-icon=\"2\"><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"contributors-block\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Karl-Flinders-profile-pic-2022-140x180px.jpg\" alt=\"Karl Flinders\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/contributor\/Karl-Flinders\">Karl Flinders,<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\n\tPublished: <span>24 Mar 2023 12:45<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"content-body\">\n<p>The National Crime Agency has infiltrated a cyber crime marketplace by setting up websites pretending to offer the tools needed to mount <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/searchsecurity\/definition\/distributed-denial-of-service-attack?_gl=1*175dyi2*_ga*MTk0NzIwMDY4Ny4xNjcyODM0MjYy*_ga_TQKE4GS5P9*MTY3OTY1NTkzOS4yNDguMS4xNjc5NjU4MTM5LjAuMC4w*_ga_RZDF13FDNT*MTY3OTY1NTkzOC42My4xLjE2Nzk2NTgxMzkuMC4wLjA.*_ga_NLDTRJGG3Y*MTY3OTY1NTkzOC41OC4xLjE2Nzk2NTgxMzkuMC4wLjA.*_ga_H4TNQB84WS*MTY3OTY1NTkzOC41OC4xLjE2Nzk2NTgxMzkuMC4wLjA.*_ga_7FK328ZGNW*MTY3OTY1NTkzOC41NC4xLjE2Nzk2NTgxMzkuMC4wLjA.&#038;_ga=2.116704079.894557341.1679303162-1947200687.1672834262\">distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The sting was part of an international law enforcement response targeting criminal DDoS-for-hire infrastructures worldwide, known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252528384\/Cops-dismantle-48-DDoS-for-hire-websites\">Operation PowerOff<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Several thousand people have accessed these websites, which offer what are known as DDoS-for-hire, or \u201cbooter\u201d, services. The details of people that have registered with the fake website have been collated by investigators.<\/p>\n<p>The NCA has now identified one of the websites it was running, replacing it with a message that the users have had their data collected and \u201cwill be contacted by law enforcement\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Those in the UK will be contacted by the NCA or police and warned about engaging in cyber crime, while the details of those overseas are being passed to international law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>DDos attacks, where compromised computer systems bombard a target, such as a server or website, force the organisations targeted offline, often causing huge financial and reputational damage. These attacks are illegal in the UK under the Computer Misuse Act 1990.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDDoS-for-hire, or \u2018booter\u2019, services allow users to set up accounts and order DDoS attacks in a matter of minutes,\u201d said the NCA. \u201cSuch attacks have the potential to cause significant harm to businesses and critical national infrastructure, and often prevent people from accessing essential public services.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Alan Merrett from the NCA\u2019s National Cyber Crime Unit said \u201cbooter services\u201d are a key enabler of cyber crime. \u201cThe 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Merrett added that traditional site takedowns and arrests are key components of law enforcement\u2019s response to threats, but said: \u201cWe have extended our operational capability with this activity, at the same time as undermining trust in the criminal market.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The NCA said it will not reveal how many sites it has or for how long they have been running. Merrett said: \u201cGoing forward, people who wish to use these services can\u2019t be sure who is actually behind them, so why take the risk?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252528384\/Cops-dismantle-48-DDoS-for-hire-websites\">In December, the UK NCA<\/a>, working alongside the FBI, the Dutch Police and European Union law enforcement agency Europol, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252528384\/Cops-dismantle-48-DDoS-for-hire-websites\">took down 48 of the world\u2019s most widely used booter sites<\/a> suspected of being used by cyber criminals and other threat actors to conduct DDoS attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Operation PowerOff also saw the NCA arrest an 18-year-old Devon man, who is suspected of being the administrator of one of the websites, and charges were also filed against six individuals in the US.<\/p>\n<p>The wider operation is an ongoing, coordinated response by law enforcement targeting criminal DDoS-for-hire infrastructure. Besides the website seizures, participating agencies are also running ad campaigns targeting people searching the web for such services.<\/p>\n<p>Industry partners Akamai, Cloudflare, Digital Ocean, Entertainment Software Association, Google, Oracle, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42, PayPal, Unit 221B, the University of Cambridge and Yahoo also provided assistance and intelligence in the operation.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"DigDeeperSplash\">\n<h4>\n\t\t\t<i data-icon=\"m\"><\/i>Read more on Hackers and cybercrime prevention<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252528384\/Cops-dismantle-48-DDoS-for-hire-websites\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/security-infection-processor-circuitboard-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/security-infection-processor-circuitboard-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/security-infection-processor-circuitboard-adobe.jpeg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Cops dismantle 48 DDoS-for-hire websites<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Alex-Scroxton-CW-Contributor-2022.jpg\" alt=\"AlexScroxton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Alex\u00a0Scroxton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252476923\/Cops-take-down-data-wholesale-operation\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/cybercrime-laptop-police-fotolia_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/cybercrime-laptop-police-fotolia_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/cybercrime-laptop-police-fotolia.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Cops take down data wholesale operation<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Alex-Scroxton-CW-Contributor-2022.jpg\" alt=\"AlexScroxton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Alex\u00a0Scroxton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252475180\/Jailed-hacker-ordered-to-pay-back-270k\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/money-sterling-notes-pounds-getty_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/money-sterling-notes-pounds-getty_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/money-sterling-notes-pounds-getty.jpg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Jailed hacker ordered to pay back \u00a3270k<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Alex-Scroxton-CW-Contributor-2022.jpg\" alt=\"AlexScroxton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Alex\u00a0Scroxton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a id=\"DigDeeperItem-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/252474489\/Conservatives-propose-national-cyber-crime-force\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero Images\/cyber-security-laptop-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/cyber-security-laptop-adobe_searchsitetablet_520X173.jpg 960w,https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/visuals\/ComputerWeekly\/Hero%20Images\/cyber-security-laptop-adobe.jpeg 1280w\" alt ><\/p>\n<h5>Conservatives propose national cyber crime force<\/h5>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.ttgtmedia.com\/rms\/computerweekly\/Alex-Scroxton-CW-Contributor-2022.jpg\" alt=\"AlexScroxton\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><span>By: <span>Alex\u00a0Scroxton<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.computerweekly.com\/news\/365533993\/National-Crime-Agency-sting-operation-infiltrates-cyber-crime-market\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><br \/>\n Jeanice Serna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>William &#8211; stock.adobe.com The UK National Crime Agency has tricked thousands of potential cyber criminals into registering with a fake website pretending to offer tools for creating DDoS attacks By Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA Published: 24 Mar 2023 12:45 The National Crime Agency has infiltrated a cyber crime marketplace by setting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":621757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2353,3574,46],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-621756","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime","8":"category-national","9":"category-technology"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}