The US Department of Justice announced it seized 48 internet domains that offered so-called “booter” or “stresser” services that allowed cybercriminals to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks for a fee.

“The websites targeted in this operation were used to launch millions of actual or attempted DDoS attacks targeting victims worldwide… Booter services such as those named in this action allegedly attacked a wide array of victims in the United States and abroad, including educational institutions, government agencies, gaming platforms and millions of individuals. In addition to affecting targeted victims, these attacks can significantly degrade internet services and can completely disrupt internet connections,” the DoJ said.

The US authorities have also charged six individuals allegedly involved in running the DDoS-for-Hire services. The six defendants have been charged with operating various booter services, including RoyalStresser[.]com (formerly Supremesecurityteam), SecurityTeam[.]io, Astrostress[.]com, Booter[.]sx, IPStresser[.]com, and TrueSecurityServices[.]io. They have also been accused of violating the computer fraud and abuse act.