These young people who were selling cyberattack kits for less than €20 have just been arrested by Europol.

A large-scale operation targeted illegal platforms specializing in cyberattacks. These low-cost services allowed thousands of users to paralyze websites worldwide. The operation could well mark a turning point in the fight against these tools available to everyone.

Computer attacks are no longer reserved for experts. Today, it is possible to rent illegal services online that allow you to block a site in just a few clicks. These platforms, often well-presented and easy to use, turn anyone into a potential attacker. The targets are varied: schools, businesses, gaming platforms, and even public services.

Europol announced on May 7, 2025, the dismantling of six of these services. The operation, conducted with Polish, Dutch, German, and American authorities, resulted in the arrest of four young people aged 19 to 22. Nine domain names linked to these platforms were also seized. The targeted services were called cfxapi, cfxsecurity, neostress, jetstress, quickdown, and zapcut. They offered their customers the chance to launch DDoS attacks for a price starting around €10. The QuickDown and CFX services allowed websites to be attacked for as little as €20 per month. These platforms, known as “stresser” or “booter,” often present themselves as stress testing tools. In reality, they are used to launch attacks that flood sites with fake connections to make them inaccessible. QuickDown, for example, offered plans ranging from €20 to €350 per month, with advanced options using botnets. According to a Radware report, these services now combine dedicated servers and infected networks to be even more effective. This operation is part of a larger plan called PowerOFF, which was already responsible for blocking 27 other services in December 2024. Europol had already struck a major blow in May 2024 with Operation Endgame, which neutralized more than 100 servers used to distribute ransomware. By centralizing access to these illegal tools, services like QuickDown have industrialized DDoS attacks. Authorities hope that these takedowns will curb their proliferation, particularly on dark web forums.