« MCI criticized for spamware | Main | AOL settles with spam king »

February 4, 2005

Complaint Dropped Against DDoS Mafia

As I report in this story for O'ReillyNet, a federal court in Los Angeles has dismissed a criminal complaint against a group of men referred to as the DDoS Mafia.

Prosecutors told me the move was strictly procedural, and they could re-file a complaint at a later date.

The DDoS Mafia, led by Paul Ashley, the owner of CIT-FooNet, was blamed for attacks on several spam blacklist sites in 2003. FooNet also hosted carderplanet.net, a notorious phishing site. The government's complaint dealt only with a October 2003 DDoS-for-hire scheme involving Saad "Jay" Echouafni, who is now on the FBI's most-wanted fugitives list.

From talking to people close to the situation, I am under the impression that Ashley and some of his henchmen are cooperating with law enforcement as part of a pending plea agreement. But as I report in the article, that apparently hasn't stopped some phishing from going on right under Ashley's nose.

Posted by brian at February 4, 2005 2:39 PM