Authorities in Europe and beyond are stepping up their fight against illegal DDoS-for-hire services. In its latest action, Europol has announced the takedown of six more DDoS platforms and the arrest of four individuals linked to thousands of attacks across Europe.
These so-called booter services have made it dangerously easy for anyone to launch denial-of-service attacks on websites, often charging just a few dollars for massive online disruptions. Over the past few years, law enforcement agencies from Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region have worked together under an ongoing effort called Operation PowerOFF to target these services.
In this latest sweep, Europol confirmed that six active DDoS platforms—Cfxapi, Cfxsecurity, Neostress, Jetstress, Quickdown, and Zapcut—have been taken offline. These services were used between 2022 and 2025 to attack targets ranging from gaming platforms to schools, businesses, and government websites.
The crackdown didn’t stop with just the takedowns. In Poland, four individuals accused of running a network of these DDoS services were arrested. Investigators believe the suspects were responsible for orchestrating thousands of cyberattacks using the platforms they controlled.
This cross-border operation saw coordinated efforts from law enforcement agencies in Poland, the Netherlands, the United States, and Germany. U.S. authorities also seized nine domains linked to illegal DDoS operations, while Dutch officials took an unusual approach by creating fake booter websites to warn would-be attackers about the legal consequences.
Dutch investigators were also key in the arrests, providing crucial intelligence to Polish authorities. Data gathered from previously seized platforms hosted in the Netherlands played a pivotal role in identifying and tracking the suspects.
The European police agency emphasized that these takedowns are part of a broader strategy to reduce the availability of cyberattack services online and to send a clear message: DDoS-for-hire is not just a prank—it’s a crime.
