Man Admits to Directing DDoS Attacks Across the US

John Kelsey Gammell has pleaded guilty to engaging in, and directing, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against websites of former employers, business competitors, and public services including law enforcement and courts, the US Department of Justice reported this week.

Gammell, a New Mexico resident, participated in the campaign from around July 2015 through around March 2017. He caused DDoS attacks by using programs on his own computers and buying services to launch attacks from "DDoS-for-hire" companies including VDoS, CStress, Inboot, Booter.xyz, and IPStresser. IP address anonymization services hid his identity and location, and Gammell also used spoofed emails, cryptocurrency for payment, encryption, and drive-cleaning tools to evade detection.

He has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit intentional damage to a protected computer and two counts of being a felon-in-possession of a firearm. Gammell was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition following earlier felony convictions.

Read more details here.