In today's digital landscape, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have become one of the most powerful tools in a cybercriminal’s arsenal. These attacks, often facilitated by DDoS-as-a-Service (DDoSaaS) platforms, DDoS-for-Hire services, and botnet-for-hire networks, can disrupt online services, extort businesses, and even advance political agendas. At FalconFeeds.io, our latest research reveals a staggering 3,529 DDoS incidents occurred in Europe during the first half of 2024, making up 60% of the total cyberattacks we analyzed. The rise of DDoS-as-a-Service (DDoSaaS) on platforms like Telegram is a significant contributor to this alarming trend.

DoS vs DDoS Attacks

DoS Attack: This is typically launched from a single source and floods a target server or network with requests, rendering it inaccessible to legitimate users.
DDoS Attack: DDoS is like a DoS attack on steroids. It involves multiple systems, often spread across different locations, working together to bombard the target with traffic. This distributed nature makes DDoS attacks much more powerful and challenging to defend against.

Telegram: Marketplace for DDoS-as-a-Service

Telegram has emerged as a hotbed for cybercriminals looking to offer DDoS-as-a-Service (DDoSaaS). On various Telegram channels and groups, vendors openly advertise a range of DDoS attack services at different price points, making it alarmingly easy for even those with minimal technical expertise to hire a DDoS attack. Telegram’s encryption and anonymity features create an ideal environment for these illegal activities to flourish unchecked.

Our research has identified over 140 Telegram channels and groups actively offering these services, with 80% of them being currently active and trading these services primarily through cryptocurrencies. This trend underscores the growing accessibility and anonymity of DDoS attacks, posing a significant threat to businesses and individuals alike.

DDoS-as-a-Service

Booters and Stressors: The Tools of the Trade

Booters: These are web-based services that allow users to rent botnets—networks of compromised devices—to launch DDoS attacks.
Stressors: Marketed as legitimate tools for testing network resilience, stressors are often used to carry out illegal DDoS attacks.

Both of these tools are easily accessible on Telegram, lowering the barrier to entry for would-be attackers.

The Price of a DDoS Attack

Basic Attacks: Start as low as $10 per month.
Sophisticated Attacks: Costs can reach thousands of dollars for prolonged, high-intensity DDoS attacks.

Price lists are often displayed on Telegram channels, with discounts available for repeat customers or bulk orders. This accessibility has turned DDoS into a commodity, available to anyone willing to pay.

We analyzed few of those popular services :

Lava C2/API

SSH-KILLER

Low resource usage requires minimal bandwidth.
Can target 500-1000 IPs simultaneously on a basic VPS.
No need for proxies or IP spoofing.

SOCKET

General-purpose socket attack method.
High connection rate, minimal traffic.
Requires proxies, but no IP spoofing.

MULTI-FLOOD

Includes six different attack methods within one socket flood.
Capable of high traffic output and can bypass most protections.
Needs proxies but does not require IP spoofing.

Space API

Layer 4 & Layer 7 Methods

Specially targeted attacks on popular games like PUBG, Overwatch, Fortnite, and more.
Includes normal and VIP options, offering higher intensity attacks for VIP users.
Some methods are designed to crash or lag game servers.

Solar Services

LAYER 4 NETWORK

Updated UDP and TCP attacks capable of massive traffic output, up to 75Gbps.
Includes specialized methods like OVH-UDP and HANDSHAKE for targeting game servers and OVH-hosted applications.

LAYER 7 NETWORK

Advanced HTTP-based attacks like SOLAR-STORM and RAPID-FLOOD, designed to bypass common DDoS protections.
Enhanced with a wide range of IPv6 locations for more effective attacks.

lkxstress.su | DDOS & IP-STRESSER

Layer 4 & Layer 7 Updates

Enhanced flood methods like DNS-UDP, TCP-TLS, and HTTPS-ARTEMIS, designed to maximize packets per second and bypass security measures.
Specialized techniques for Cloudflare, including methods that evade CAPTCHA and HTTP-DDoS protections.

Stresser Cat

HTTP-TESTAROSSA and HTTP-REVUELTO Updates

Supports HTTP 1.1 and custom headers for more efficient attacks.
System spoofing for Windows and Linux, with automatic detection of common security measures like hCaptcha.

KoxyBotnet

Capable of delivering up to 1290 Gbps in UDP and 820 Gbps in TCP attacks.
Regular updates to improve bypassing capabilities for a wide range of targets.

Cecilio Network // DDOS BOTNET

Pricing and Attack Capabilities

Offers plans ranging from daily to lifetime access with varying levels of attack power, up to 300G UDP and 150G TCP.
Custom bypass methods for both Layer 4 and Layer 7 attacks.

Metis C2 / Botnet

Subscription Plans

Different daily, weekly, and monthly plans with various attack durations and cooldown periods.
Offers high-powered attacks, such as 400G+ GRE and 300G+ ACK, with additional features like API access and reduced cooldowns.

This overview breaks down the complex offerings into simpler terms that analysts can easily understand while retaining the technical details.

Transaction Methods

Vendors often use payment methods like PayPal and cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin) to facilitate transactions. Cryptocurrencies, in particular, offer enhanced privacy and reduced traceability, making it challenging for law enforcement to track these activities. This ease of payment lowers the barrier for even low-skilled attackers to engage in sophisticated cyberattacks, such as DDoS operations.

DDoS-as-a-Service

Why Do Cybercriminals Use DDoS?

Financial Gain: Many attackers use DDoS as a means of extortion, demanding ransom from businesses (Ransom DDoS or RDoS). Others monetize their botnets by offering DDoSaaS.
Political or Ideological Reasons: Hacktivist groups use DDoS to protest or draw attention to causes, often targeting government websites or financial institutions. Nation-state actors also use DDoS in cyber warfare to disrupt critical infrastructure.
Competitive Advantage: Some businesses or individuals may resort to DDoS to disrupt competitors, damaging their operations and reputation.
Revenge or Personal Grievances: Disgruntled employees or customers might launch DDoS attacks as an act of revenge against a company.
Diversion Tactics: DDoS can be a smokescreen, diverting security teams’ attention while other malicious activities, like data breaches, are carried out unnoticed.

Emerging Trends in DDoS Attacks

DDoS-as-a-Service Expansion: The ease of access and low cost of DDoSaaS on platforms like Telegram has democratized the ability to launch attacks, allowing even those with limited skills to cause significant damage.
Increasing Attack Volume and Complexity: DDoS attacks are growing not just in frequency but in intensity. High-bandwidth attacks often exceed 1 Tbps, and multi-vector attacks combine several methods to overwhelm defenses.
Exploitation of IoT Devices: The rapid proliferation of insecure Internet of Things (IoT) devices has led to the creation of massive botnets. These IoT botnets can generate enormous volumes of traffic, making them particularly dangerous.
Targeted Campaigns: Attackers are increasingly focusing on specific industries or organizations, tailoring DDoS campaigns to maximize disruption, particularly against critical infrastructure sectors.
DDoS in Multi-Layer Extortion: Ransomware groups are incorporating DDoS into their extortion strategies, using it as an additional pressure point to force victims into paying ransoms.
Integration with Cybercrime Ecosystems: DDoS attacks are often part of broader cybercrime operations, complementing other attacks like phishing or malware campaigns.
Geopolitical Tensions and State-Sponsored DDoS: As global tensions rise, so do state-sponsored DDoS attacks. These are often used in cyber warfare or proxy wars to destabilize governments or disrupt key industries.

Common DDoS Attack Vectors

Volumetric Attacks: These aim to consume all available bandwidth by flooding the network with traffic.
Protocol Attacks: These exploit weaknesses in network protocols, overwhelming resources like firewalls or load balancers.
Application Layer Attacks (Layer 7): These target specific applications, such as web servers, making it difficult for legitimate users to access services.

Defending Against DDoS Attacks

Network-Level Defenses: Implement rate limiting, IP blacklisting/whitelisting, and redundant infrastructure to absorb and mitigate attacks.
Application-Level Defenses: Use Web Application Firewalls (WAF), rate limiting, and caching to protect against application-layer attacks.
DDoS Mitigation Services: Cloud-based DDoS protection services can help absorb and mitigate large-scale attacks.
Monitoring and Detection: Continuous traffic monitoring and behavioral analysis tools are crucial for detecting and responding to attacks in real-time.
Incident Response Planning: Having a predefined incident response plan and conducting regular drills ensures your team is prepared for an attack.

Conclusion

The rise of DDoS-as-a-Service on Telegram highlights the evolving and increasingly complex threat landscape that organizations face today. As cybercriminals continue to exploit these platforms, businesses must stay vigilant and invest in robust defense mechanisms. With continuous monitoring, strategic vendor partnerships, and advanced mitigation strategies, organizations can better defend against the growing threat of DDoS attacks.