‘Rapper Bot’ hit the Pentagon in at least 3 cyberattacks

The powerful “Rapper Bot” Distributed Denial of Service-for-hire botnet impacted the Department of Defense Information Network (DODIN) in at least three attacks between April and August — when U.S. government authorities gained control of the disruptive malware web, two officials told DefenseScoop.

Federal prosecutors in Alaska charged 22-year-old Ethan Foltz on Tuesday for allegedly running the large-scale cyber operation since before or around 2021. Authorities ranked Rapper Bot as “among the most powerful DDoS botnets to have ever existed,” in the affidavit for the criminal complaint. 

On a call with a small group of reporters shortly after the announcement, sources familiar with this investigation who requested anonymity to speak freely about it, shared new details about this massive online extortion campaign that targeted victims all over the world — including a U.S. government network, a popular social media platform and multiple technology companies. 

Read more at DefenseScoop