U.S. authorities have filed charges against two Sudanese nationals involved in a major Distributed-Denial-of-Service (DDoS) cybercrime network, linked to the group “Anonymous Sudan” according to a press release from Europol today. This group, responsible for over 35,000 attacks within a year, targeted critical infrastructure, including U.S. federal agencies and global organizations, causing more than $10 million in damages.
Coordinated by Europol, the investigation involved law enforcement agencies across Europe and the U.S., with contributions from Sweden, Luxembourg, France, and other key entities. The operation included the disabling of the DDoS network’s infrastructure, part of the broader international effort known as Operation PowerOFF.
Anonymous Sudan’s DDoS tool, allegedly sold as a service to other criminal actors, was seized by the FBI under warrants obtained in March 2024. The tool was used to launch large-scale attacks, including those on the U.S. Department of Justice, Department of Defense, and other government entities, as well as critical technology platforms.
Through collaboration between the FBI, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and European authorities, the operation dismantled the infrastructure used to coordinate these attacks, as well as the servers containing the source code for the DDoS tools.
The charges were part of Operation PowerOFF, an international collaboration aimed at dismantling DDoS-for-hire infrastructures and bringing both administrators and users of these illegal services to justice. In Europe, authorities from France, Luxembourg, and Sweden were involved, while U.S. agencies, including the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, led efforts in the U.S.
This coordinated international response showcases the ongoing commitment to combating cybercrime and protecting critical infrastructure from the threats posed by state-sponsored and ideologically motivated cyber actors.
