Topic: [2015-12-08] Unknown Copycat Using Armada Collective Name for DDoS-for-Bitcoin E (Read 304 times)

Unknown Copycat Using Armada Collective Name for DDoS-for-Bitcoin Extortions

After the success of DDoSing outfits like DD4BC and Armada Collective, an unknown copycat that's using the Armada Collective name but asking for astronomical payments has appeared.

A report from Recorded Future, a real-time threat intelligence protection company, shows that DDoS-for-Bitcoin extortion schemes are here to stay, with more and more attacks being launched solely for this reason.
DD4BC have launched a new type of extortion scheme

This trend can be tracked down to an Akamai report released over the summer that documented the actions of a hacking group known as DD4BC (DDoS 4 Bitcoin). This group launched DDoS attacks on companies around the world, requesting small payments in Bitcoin for each target.

The group's scheme was a simple one. They would send threatening emails to business owners, saying they would launch powerful DDoS attacks if a ransom was not paid in due time to a specific Bitcoin wallet. To prove their point, a small 15-minute DDoS was launched to showcase their capabilities.

DD4BC's scheme proved to be extremely lucrative and allowed them to rack up Bitcoin over the past year in over 140 DDoS attacks.

The group was active since late 2014 and suddenly stopped its activity after the Akamai report was released, probably to avoid getting caught by law enforcement authorities alerted to their scheme.
Enter Armada Collective

Soon after, the first DD4BC copycat arose, in the form of the Armada Collective hackers, carrying out DDoS attacks on small businesses in Switzerland.

They then expanded to email providers, and their name became known around the world in the famous ProtonMail incident. The incident is very well documented in one of our previous stories, but we'll give you a small summary.

Basically, Armada Collective followed the DD4BC regular tactics, sending an email and launching a small 10-15 Gbps DDoS attack on ProtonMail.

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