What is VDOS?
vDOS was an online booter service that launched in 2013 and acted as an online marketplace where customers could pay to carry out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against websites and servers of their choosing. It operated using a network of servers and botnet networks that could overwhelm targets with malicious traffic and effectively take them offline.
vDOS quickly became one of the most prominent booter services during its time in operation. It differentiated itself from competitors through technical innovation and by offering phone and email customer support to users. At its peak, it had over 150,000 registered users and brought in over $600,000 in profits from its DDoS offerings before it was seized and shut down by authorities in 2016.
The operators of vDOS were two Israeli teenagers going by the handles "AppleJ4ck" and "p1st" who built and maintained the attack infrastructure. After a 2-year FBI investigation called Operation Armor, they were identified and arrested. Both pleaded guilty to crimes related to the service in Israeli court and received brief custodial sentences.
While in operation, vDOS was linked to DDoS extortion campaigns against several high-profile websites including those of security journalist Brian Krebs and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Its seizure represented a significant blow against the growing booter industry at the time.