Europol Shuts Down Six DDoS-for-Hire Services

May 07 2025 · Views: 51,195

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM — Europol has announced the shutdown of six DDoS-for-hire platforms that fueled thousands of attacks worldwide, striking schools, businesses, government agencies, and gaming networks. The coordinated operation led to the arrest of four individuals in Poland, aged 19 to 22, while U.S. authorities seized nine domains linked to the illegal services.

The dismantled platforms — cfxapi, cfxsecurity, neostress, jetstress, quickdown, and zapcut — are accused of enabling customers to launch disruptive attacks for as little as €10. These stresser or booter services were disguised as legitimate network testing tools but were in reality part of a booming hack-for-hire economy. Customers only needed to input a target IP, select an attack type, and pay with cryptocurrency to take a system offline.

Industrializing Cyberattacks

Unlike traditional botnets that require massive numbers of infected devices, stresser services centralize the infrastructure, offering scalable DDoS attacks for hire. Europol highlighted that the platforms used sleek, user-friendly dashboards to make cybercrime accessible to anyone willing to pay. This democratization of hacking mirrors the wider hire a hacker online trend across the dark web.

Pricing and Reach

Archived snapshots show cfxsecurity marketed itself as the “#1 stress testing service,” with plans starting at $20/month and scaling up to $130/month. QuickDown offered packages ranging from $20/month to nearly $379/month, with hybrid infrastructure that blended botnets and dedicated servers. Radware reports revealed QuickDown expanded in 2023 to include a “Botnet addon” that increased the scope and severity of its attacks.

Operation PowerOFF

This takedown is part of Operation PowerOFF, a multinational campaign to disrupt DDoS-for-hire networks. Previous actions in December 2024 dismantled 27 stresser services and led to multiple arrests in the Netherlands and U.S. Officials say the latest raids are proof that international cooperation is tightening against the hack-for-hire industry.

The Bigger Picture

Authorities warn that dark web hackers for hire continue to adapt, offering new features, hybrid infrastructures, and professionalized services. But each enforcement action weakens their visibility and raises the risks for buyers and sellers alike. Europol’s latest strike shows that while hire a hacker services remain widespread, law enforcement is steadily reclaiming ground in the battle against cyber mercenaries.