Dozens of teenagers arrested by the Europol over DDoS attacks
Pierluigi Paganini
December 13, 2016
The Europol announced a joint international operation targeting teenagers suspected to have used DDOS cyber attack tools.
The Europan law enforcement agency Europol has announced that police from 13 countries across the world have arrested 34 users of DDoS attack tools and interviewed and warned 101 suspects.
“From 5 to 9 December 2016, Europol and law enforcement authorities from Australia, Belgium, France, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States carried out a coordinated action targeting users of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) cyber-attack tools, leading to 34 arrests and 101 suspects interviewed and cautioned.” states the official announcement from the Europol.
The Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) provided its support to law enforcement worldwide to identify suspects in the EU and beyond. The individuals arrested are mainly teenagers under the age of 20.
“The participating countries worked together in the framework of the EMPACT (European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats) project targeting cyber-attacks that affect critical infrastructure and information systems in the EU.” continues the Europol.
All the arrested people are suspected of paying for
booters services that they used to launch massive DDoS attacks. The tools used to power the cyber attacks are part of the criminal ‘DDoS for hire’ facilities.
“Today’s generation is closer to technology than ever before, with the potential of exacerbating the threat of cybercrime. Many IT enthusiasts get involved in seemingly low-level fringe cybercrime activities from a young age, unaware of the consequences that such crimes carry.” Steven Wilson, Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), commented. “One of the key priorities of law enforcement should be to engage with these young people to prevent them from pursuing a criminal path, helping them understand how they can use their skills for a more constructive purpose. “
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Pierluigi Paganini
(Security Affairs – DDoS, hacking)
