Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Guide to IP Booter Panels in 2021

    By
    Sean Michael Kerner
    -
    August 5, 2013
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      A security researcher speaking at the Black Hat conference last week has exposed the malicious underworld of Booter services that offers paying customers distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack capabilities on demand.

      Lance James, chief scientist at Vigilant, explained to eWEEK that he got pulled into an investigation into the world of Booter services by his friend, security blogger Brian Krebs. Krebs had been the victim of a Booter service attack and was looking for some answers.

      “Basically a Booter is a Web-based service that does DDoS for hire at very low prices and is very hard to take down,” James said. “They are marketed toward script kiddies, and many DDoS attacks that have been in the news have been done via these services.”

      James was able to identify the suspected Booter site via Website log files and began to trace the activity of the individual who specifically attacked Krebs. Further investigation revealed that the same individual was also attacking other sites, including whitehouse.gov and the Ars Technica Website.

      After James was able to identify the Booter service and directly connect it to the attacks against Krebs, the two were able to help shut down the Booter service itself.

      James said the data was handed off to law enforcement, and the specific Booter service that initially attacked Krebs was shut down within a short period of time. The timing challenge in taking down the Booter service has to do with the fact that the Internet service provider (ISP) that the service looks like it is being hosted from is not where the Booter service actually is located.

      “There is a service in the middle that protects the Booter sites with turnkey Web security routing,” James explained. “In that case, they operate similar to the legal confines of Facebook and Twitter, and they require subpoenas and warrants to shut it all down.”

      How Booter Services Work

      The challenge in locating the root source of the Booter service is also to due to the operational complexity of how the Booter works.

      Booter services typically have a Web front end, where the end user who wants to target a given site is provided with an interface. James explained that the Web front end is just the control panel, while the underlying back end with the hosts that execute the DDoS attack is located elsewhere.

      “So to the underlying ISP that is involved, it doesn’t look like anything that is malicious,” James said. “There is no DDoS traffic coming directly from the ISP.”

      The DDoS traffic comes from a separate infrastructure that includes data servers all over the world that the Booter services connect to via proxies.

      “So when you actually request a Booter service takedown, it’s very difficult because the ISP on which the site is hosted has plausible deniability,” James said. “They can say, ‘We haven’t seen them do anything illegal from our site,’ so you really need to prove that.”

      Follow the Money

      One of the ways that James was able to help track down the individual behind the Booter service was via the PayPal email address the person was using to get paid for his services. James’ investigation ended up looking at over 40 Booter services, and all of them used PayPal as their payment mechanism.

      “A lot of the times to disrupt something, the economic structure has to be disrupted,” James said. “If you look at the motivation—and the motivation is money—you need to disrupt what they are seeking.”

      Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.

      Sean Michael Kerner
      Sean Michael Kerner is an Internet consultant, strategist, and contributor to several leading IT business web sites.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×