Feds Dismantle “RapperBot,” the DDoS Empire Behind X’s Major Outage — What It Means and How to Protect Yourself

If a 22-year-old in Oregon can help knock one of the world’s biggest social platforms offline, what does that say about the internet’s defenses? And more importantly, what can you do to stay safe when the next wave hits?

Federal authorities have taken down one of the most aggressive DDoS-for-hire services in recent years, charging Ethan Foltz of Eugene, Oregon, with running “RapperBot”—a botnet that seized control of tens of thousands of insecure devices and unleashed hundreds of thousands of attacks worldwide. The network’s power was staggering, and yes, it’s the one tied to the March outage that took X (formerly Twitter) offline for many users.

Here’s what happened, why it matters, and what you can do—whether you run a Fortune 500 or just a home WiFi router—to reduce your risk in a threat landscape where a few keystrokes can overwhelm entire networks.

TL;DR: What You Need to Know

Federal agents disrupted “RapperBot,” also called Eleven Eleven Botnet and CowBot, a major DDoS-for-hire operation.
The botnet controlled 65,000–95,000 devices across 80 countries and launched more than 370,000 attacks from April to early August alone.
Typical attacks pushed 2–3 Tbps, with some exceeding 6 Tbps—more than enough to take large services offline.
Targets included a U.S. government network, tech firms, and X (formerly Twitter).
Prosecutors charged a 22-year-old Oregon man, alleged to be the primary admin, who cooperated after authorities gained control on August 6.
The takedown is part of Operation PowerOFF, a broader, international crackdown on DDoS-for-hire services.
Expect short-term relief—and long-term cat-and-mouse. There will be copycats. Preparation is your best defense.

Sources: CBS News, CyberScoop, KrebsOnSecurity, Europol.

Inside “RapperBot”: A DDoS-for-Hire Superweapon

Think of a botnet like a zombie army: everyday devices—mostly digital video recorders (DVRs) and WiFi routers—quietly infected and turned into remote-controlled cannons. When the operator points them at a target, they all fire at once, flooding networks with junk traffic until systems buckle.

Between April and early August, RapperBot unleashed more than 370,000 attacks against 18,000 unique victims across 80 countries. Prosecutors and court documents cited by multiple outlets described it as among the most sophisticated and powerful DDoS-for-hire services operating today.

Key details, as reported:

Scale: 65,000–95,000 compromised devices globally
Firepower: Sustained floods at 2–3 terabits per second; peaks beyond 6 Tbps
Targets: A U.S. government network, technology companies, and X (formerly Twitter)
Geography: Heavy activity focused in China, Japan, the U.S., Ireland, and Hong Kong

Why does this matter? Because even well-protected organizations can struggle to absorb multi-terabit floods. And because many of the devices used—your neighbor’s router, a corner-store security camera—belong to people who have no idea they’re part of an attack.

For background on how DDoS attacks work and why they’re surging, see industry analyses from Cloudflare, Akamai, and guidance from CISA.

A Note on the X Outage

In March, X experienced a major outage that affected users worldwide. Reporting ties that disruption to RapperBot’s activity window and attack patterns. While large platforms are resilient, even they can be overwhelmed by simultaneous, multi-vector attacks at massive scale.

For additional context, see coverage via CyberScoop and ongoing DDoS trend reports from Cloudflare.

How the Takedown Happened

The investigation appears to have followed the money and the metadata. According to court filings cited in public reports:

Financial tracing linked the botnet’s infrastructure provider to a PayPal account associated with Foltz.
Google account data showed repeated searches for “RapperBot,” including checks on cybersecurity blogs for mentions—an indicator of operator situational awareness.
Telegram chat logs captured discussions between Foltz and a partner known as “SlayKings” about staying under the radar. They referenced avoiding high-profile targets like investigative journalist Brian Krebs—recognizing that would invite intense scrutiny. See Krebs’ reporting background on DDoS crews at KrebsOnSecurity.

On August 6, authorities gained control of the botnet and its command systems. During a recorded interview, Foltz allegedly admitted being the primary administrator and cooperated to disable the botnet’s attack capabilities.

For readers tracking the legal angle: the charge—one count of aiding and abetting computer intrusions—falls under U.S. computer crime law (commonly associated with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act). Foltz faces up to 10 years if convicted, though first-time offenders often receive lower sentences. These are allegations; the case will proceed through the courts.

The “Goldilocks” Strategy

Investigators say the operators deliberately kept the botnet at a “Goldilocks” size: big enough to generate devastating traffic, but small enough to avoid triggering detection systems that notice unusual growth or loud, obvious campaigns. It’s a reminder that stealth is often a bigger asset than raw scale. The goal isn’t to be the largest—just to be large enough, on demand, and quiet in between.

Operation PowerOFF: The Bigger Crackdown

This bust is part of a larger international crackdown on DDoS-for-hire markets known as Operation PowerOFF. Law enforcement agencies have been targeting “booter” and “stresser” services—the euphemisms these sites use to claim they “test” network strength while selling attack capacity to anyone with a credit card or crypto wallet.

In December 2024, authorities seized 27 domains linked to DDoS-for-hire portals and charged additional defendants.
International partners, including Europol and national cybercrime units, coordinated cross-border actions against infrastructure and operators. See Europol’s Operation PowerOFF page.

Why it matters: Disrupting infrastructure raises the cost for attackers and denies them scale for a time. It also yields data—customer records, server logs, crypto wallets—that can power future investigations.

The Business of DDoS-for-Hire, in Plain English

DDoS-for-hire platforms look like ordinary SaaS dashboards. Only instead of scheduling social media posts, you’re scheduling attacks.

You choose a target IP or URL.
You pick attack types (volumetric, protocol, or application-layer).
You pay for duration and intensity. Some services let you buy “plans” promising daily or monthly quotas.
The site spins up the botnet (compromised IoT gear) or uses server-based reflectors/amplifiers to spray your target with garbage traffic.

They skirt the law with disclaimers like “for testing your own network.” But intent matters—and using these tools against others is illegal in many jurisdictions. For more on the threat and the law, see FBI/IC3 guidance and DOJ press materials.

Here’s why that matters: As long as insecure devices are plentiful and cheap, someone will rent them out for attacks. Disruptions like Operation PowerOFF help, but they don’t fix the root issue—billions of internet-connected things that ship with weak defaults and rarely get updated.

What the RapperBot Takedown Means for You

A big bust is great news. But it’s not a cure-all. If you run a business, a nonprofit, a school—or even just a home network—this is your nudge to close the gaps you control.

For organizations: Expect continued DDoS attempts, often blended with extortion. Attackers may hit your DNS, APIs, CDNs, and origin servers in short, sharp bursts to test for weaknesses. Prepare for multi-vector campaigns.
For home users: Your router, IP camera, or video doorbell could be drafted into the next botnet if you don’t update firmware and change default passwords. You don’t have to be a target to be part of the problem.

Let me explain: DDoS defense is about layers and speed. The sooner you detect and reroute nasty traffic, the less downtime you see. And the fewer insecure devices you own, the less likely you’re unwittingly helping attackers hurt someone else.

Practical Defense: A Playbook You Can Start Today

You can’t stop every attack. You can blunt the damage. Here’s how.

For Enterprises and Mid-Market Teams

Buy always-on, upstream mitigation – Use a provider with anycast global capacity and automatic scrubbing. Your ISP or cloud may offer it; third-party specialists can add redundancy. Start by evaluating Cloudflare, Akamai Prolexic, or your cloud’s native DDoS service (e.g., AWS Shield, Azure DDoS Protection, Google Cloud Armor). – Confirm guaranteed mitigation times (TTM) and peak capacity per region.
Harden your external surface – Put DNS, web, and APIs behind a CDN/WAF. – Enforce rate limiting and request validation at the edge. – Cache aggressively for static resources; use origin shields to avoid origin overload.
Prepare for L3–L7, not just floods – Volumetric: Ensure your upstream can absorb Tbps-scale floods and supports BGP FlowSpec/RTBH as a backstop. – Protocol: Block amplification vectors (e.g., misconfigured NTP, DNS resolvers) within your network; use BCP 38/84 to prevent spoofing. – Application: Model “low-and-slow” L7 attacks; deploy bot management; tune challenge/JS compute defenses.
Build and test a DDoS runbook – Define thresholds, contacts, and escalation paths. – Pre-stage firewall and CDN rules for “flip to strict” mode. – Run tabletop exercises. Measure mean time to detect and mitigate (MTTD/MTTM).
Segment and shield your control planes – Lock down admin panels, APIs, and VPN gateways with MFA, IP allowlists, and device posture checks. Many “DDoS” incidents start as credential stuffing or API abuse.
Validate dependencies – Ask your DNS, CDN, and third-party API providers for their DDoS posture, SLAs, and past performance. Your uptime is only as strong as the weakest vendor.

For more enterprise guidance, review CISA’s resources on defending network infrastructure and DDoS planning: CISA DDoS Guidance and Shields Up.

For Small Teams, Startups, and Content Sites

Use a CDN with built-in DDoS and WAF. Configure sensible rate limits and token-based access for APIs.
Move DNS to a provider with global anycast and DDoS protection.
Turn on bot detection and “under attack” modes during spikes.
Keep origin servers minimal and autoscaling. Consider serverless/edge where possible to decouple traffic from compute.
Publish a status page on a separate provider. Document how customers can reach you during incidents.
Back up your domain registrar and DNS account with hardware security keys and recovery procedures.

For Home Users and IoT Owners

Your devices can be drafted into the next botnet. Here’s how to lower the risk:

Change default passwords on routers, cameras, and DVRs. Use unique, strong passphrases.
Update firmware. Set a monthly reminder to check your router vendor’s site or admin app.
Disable remote administration and UPnP unless you truly need them.
Segment your network. Put smart home devices on a separate guest/IoT network.
Turn off devices you don’t use. Old cameras or recorders are frequent targets.
Replace end-of-life gear. If your router no longer gets updates, retire it.
Monitor for odd behavior: slow internet, router overheating, unknown logins in the admin panel.

CISA offers practical consumer security tips for connected devices: CISA IoT Guidance.

How to Tell if You’re Being DDoS’d (Or Part of One)

Signs of being attacked: Sudden site slowdown or unavailability; network saturation; spike in SYN, UDP, or HTTP traffic; edge logs full of repetitive requests; DNS timeouts.
Signs your device is a bot: Unexplained data usage; device runs hot; admin logs show unknown connections; ISP notifications about abusive traffic.

If you suspect an attack: – Call your DDoS provider or ISP immediately. – Switch to stricter WAF profiles and enable “challenge” modes for L7 traffic. – Rate limit hot endpoints. Cache what you can. – Announce status updates via social channels and your status page. – Preserve logs for investigation.

If you suspect a compromised device: – Reboot and factory reset the device. – Update firmware and change credentials. – If the device is end-of-life, replace it. – Contact your ISP if abusive traffic persists.

Legal and Policy Context

DDoS attacks are illegal under various national laws, including the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030). Renting “stressers” to attack someone else’s network is not a legal gray area; it’s a crime. Law enforcement agencies increasingly coordinate across borders to target infrastructure, seize domains, and arrest operators.

As for this case: prosecutors allege Foltz and an unidentified partner (“SlayKings”) split profits and ran the service while trying to avoid detection. The charge carries a potential 10-year sentence, though outcomes depend on plea negotiations, cooperation, and sentencing guidelines. The allegations will be tested in court.

For broader context on enforcement priorities, see Europol’s PowerOFF updates and the FBI’s IC3 alerts.

What Happens Next: Trends to Watch

Copycats and successors: Botnet code and customer lists often survive takedowns. Expect new brands to appear, sometimes run by the same circles.
Bigger, shorter, smarter: Attacks are trending toward brief, intense bursts to complicate detection, mix of L3/L4 floods with L7 application abuse.
IoT as a permanent risk: As long as low-cost, poorly secured devices are online, attackers can conscript them. Default credentials and unpatched firmware remain the Achilles’ heel.
Collateral damage: Even if you’re not a target, your vendors (DNS, CDN, third-party APIs) could be. Build resilience with redundancy and tested failovers.

Industry data points to rising attack volumes and evolving techniques. For current metrics and patterns, see the latest from Cloudflare and Akamai.

Key Takeaways

The takedown of RapperBot is a real win. It removes a powerful DDoS-for-hire network from the playing field, at least for now.
Don’t get complacent. Botnets are resilient. New services will emerge.
DDoS defense is about layers, speed, and practice. Buy upstream protection, harden your edge, and test your runbooks.
Your home devices matter. Update them, change defaults, and segment your network. Small steps help everyone.
Stay informed. Knowing how attackers operate—and how law enforcement responds—helps you invest wisely.

If you only do one thing this week: turn on your provider’s DDoS protection and review your rate limits and caching rules. It’s one of the fastest ways to reduce risk.

FAQs

Q: What is “RapperBot” and how big was it?
A: RapperBot—also called Eleven Eleven Botnet and CowBot—was a DDoS-for-hire operation that controlled roughly 65,000–95,000 infected devices across 80 countries. From April to early August, it launched more than 370,000 attacks against 18,000 victims, with traffic peaks exceeding 6 Tbps, according to court filings reported by outlets like CBS News and CyberScoop.

Q: What’s a DDoS-for-hire (booter/stresser) service?
A: It’s a platform that rents out the ability to overwhelm networks and websites with traffic. Despite “testing” disclaimers, using them against others is illegal. For background, see FBI/IC3 advisories and Europol’s Operation PowerOFF.

Q: Did RapperBot really knock X offline?
A: Reporting links RapperBot’s activity to the March outage that affected X. Large platforms have defenses, but massive, multi-vector attacks can still cause disruptions. See coverage via CyberScoop.

Q: How do I know if my router or camera is part of a botnet?
A: Clues include unexplained bandwidth spikes, devices running hot, or admin logs showing unknown logins. If in doubt, factory reset, update firmware, and change passwords. For consumer guidance, start with CISA’s IoT security tips.

Q: What is Operation PowerOFF?
A: It’s an international law enforcement initiative targeting DDoS-for-hire services—seizing domains, arresting operators, and disrupting infrastructure. Learn more via Europol.

Q: Are DDoS attacks illegal?
A: Yes. In the U.S., unauthorized attacks that impair availability can violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030) and other laws. Similar statutes exist globally.

Q: What sentence could the defendant face in this case?
A: The charge carries up to 10 years in prison. However, sentencing varies based on the facts, guidelines, and any cooperation. These are allegations; the court process will determine the outcome.

Q: Can DDoS protection stop every attack?
A: No solution is perfect, but layered defenses—upstream scrubbing, WAFs, rate limiting, caching, and resilient architectures—dramatically reduce impact. Choose providers with global capacity and guaranteed time-to-mitigate SLAs. See options from Cloudflare, Akamai Prolexic, and major clouds (AWS Shield, Azure, Google Cloud Armor).

Q: How much does DDoS mitigation cost?
A: Pricing ranges widely—from bundled features in CDNs to dedicated enterprise contracts. The right fit depends on your traffic profile, risk tolerance, and regulatory needs. Ask vendors about peak capacity, regional coverage, and past performance under real attacks.

Q: What should I do first if I’m under attack?
A: Call your provider, enable stricter WAF/bot modes, rate-limit hot endpoints, and post status updates. Preserve logs for forensics. CISA’s resources on incident response are a helpful reference: CISA Incident Response.

The bottom line: The feds just took a major DDoS powerhouse off the board. That’s a win for everyone who depends on the internet—which is all of us. But the structural problems remain: insecure devices, cheap attack infrastructure, and a ready market.

Take an hour this week to tighten your defenses. Turn on DDoS protection, review your rate limits, and update that router firmware. If you found this useful and want more practical, plain-English security breakdowns, stick around—subscribe and keep your team a step ahead.

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Feds Dismantle “RapperBot,” the DDoS Empire Behind X’s Major Outage — What It Means and How to Protect Yourself

TL;DR: What You Need to Know