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Operation PowerOFF DDoS-for-hire arrests and takedowns

Law Enforcement
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2 unique sources, 2 articles

Summary

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Authorities participating in Operation PowerOFF disrupted DDoS-for-hire and booter infrastructure across 21 countries, arresting four suspects and taking 53 domains offline. The action targeted services used to rent attack capacity for disruptive cyberattacks. Reporting on the same enforcement phase also described follow-on disruption measures, including the seizure of databases tied to criminal user accounts, removal of advertising URLs, and warnings to platform users. The broader effort aimed to dismantle the illegal DDoS-for-hire ecosystem and discourage further use of the services.

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Operation PowerOff DDoS-for-hire takedown

Law Enforcement
First: 17.04.2026 09:40 Last: 17.04.2026 09:40 Sources 1

How related: A multi-national law enforcement operation has resulted in the takedown of 53 domains associated with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and the arrest of four people suspected of providing DDoS-for-hire services.

About this happening: Europol and partners in 21 countries carried out Operation PowerOff, disrupting a DDoS-for-hire/booter-service ecosystem. The coordinated action took down 53 domains, seized infra...

Latest development: 17.04.2026 14:30

Europol-led Operation PowerOff involved police and cybersecurity agencies from 21 countries and disrupted DDoS-for-hire infrastructure by taking down 53 domains, seizing databases linked to over three million criminal user accounts, removing over 100 advertising URLs, and arresting four people suspected of providing DDoS-for-hire services.

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Timeline

  1. 17.04.2026 14:30 2 articles · 1mo ago

    Operation PowerOff disrupts DDoS-for-hire infrastructure

    Legal Policy Action Update

    Europol-led Operation PowerOff involved police and cybersecurity agencies from 21 countries and disrupted DDoS-for-hire infrastructure by taking down 53 domains, seizing databases linked to over three million criminal user accounts, removing over 100 advertising URLs, and arresting four people suspected of providing DDoS-for-hire services.

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  2. 17.04.2026 01:26 2 articles · 1mo ago

    Operation PowerOFF latest enforcement phase

    Legal Policy Action Update

    Europol-supported authorities in 21 countries warned more than 75,000 DDoS platform users, arrested four people, took 53 domains offline, and issued 25 search warrants during the latest Operation PowerOFF action against DDoS-for-hire/booter services. The operation also entered a prevention phase that adds awareness campaigns, search engine ads aimed at young people seeking DDoS tools, removal of more than 100 promotional URLs, and on-chain warning messages tied to illicit payments.

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