EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
A British teenager has been running a full-service cybercrime business, helping hackers hit millions of websites, including well known companies. He has been given a 16-month suspended sentence after admitting to violations of the Computer Misuse Act.
Reportedly, the teen’s enterprise sold several levels of service packages to cybercriminals, including Bronze, Silver, Gold, and VIP, depending on severity of attack desired–and even offered an online help desk for would-be hackers with minimal IT knowledge.
Operating out of his parents’ home, the 19-year old allegedly launched thousands of cyberattacks himself, targeting major companies such as Netflix, Vodafone, Amazon, and the BBC.
Fortunately (or unfortunately for him), Reuters reports that none of the DDoS attacks launched by the teen led to the loss of customer data. But don’t think that means his business wasn’t successful.
Quoting a detective involved with the case, Reuters writes, ”He even offered customer support on how to pick the right malware for the site they wanted to crash – it was tailor-made cybercrime solutions.
He added: “The site was responsible for facilitating more than one million attacks on businesses ranging from SMEs to multi-national household names.”
Read the full story at Reuters.