Teenager jailed for masterminding DDOS attacks on Microsoft and Sony

A distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is a simple yet effective form of cyber-attack where the attackers render their target useless by hitting it with a barrage of incredibly high volume traffic in a coordinated effort. Anything from websites to banks to video game servers can fall victim to such a move. In the past, the latter has included XBL, PSN, and even Blizzard’s Battle.net.

Of course, not everyone can organize a DDOS attack, and this is exactly where one teenager saw a business opportunity. According to The Guardian, Adam Mudd was 16 when he created the Titanium Stresser program in Manchester, responsible for 1.7m attacks on game servers as well as a team chat tool. The software allowed anyone to launch DDoS attacks, for a fee.



Mudd offered several payment packages to his customers, including discounts for those buying in bulk at just over $300. He even included refer-a-friend deals. Eventually, Mudd made nearly $500,000 with the program. But the court heard that for Mudd, who had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, it was more about the fame than the money.

Adam Mudd was 16 when he created Titanium Stresser. Photo courtesy: Bedfordshire police/PA

Of course, this wasn’t a victimless crime. Aside from paying customers left frustrated by attacks on their servers, businesses across the world lost a small fortune. Runescape, for one, ended up spending close to $8 million dollars in its defense against DDoS attacks.



The judge noted that the ramifications of Mudd’s actions were felt “from Greenland to New Zealand, from Russia to Chile”.

In the end, Mudd “pleaded guilty to one count of committing unauthorised acts with intent to impair the operation of computers; one count of making, supplying or offering to supply an article for use in an offence contrary to the Computer Misuse Act; and one count of concealing criminal property.”

He has been sentenced to two years behind bars at a young offender institution.

This article originally appeared on IGN Pakistan.