Texas Man Jailed for Running DDoS-for-Hire Website
A US resident has been sentenced to 9 months in prison for creating and managing the Astrostress service, which allowed users to launch powerful DDoS attacks. The defendant was also given a 2-year probation period, including full computer monitoring after serving the main prison term.
Esparza pleaded guilty in March, with charges filed in February. The FBI investigated the case as part of Operation PowerOFF, an international initiative to combat DDoS-for-hire platforms.
From 2019 to September 2022, 24-year-old Scott Raul Esparza operated and administered the DDoS service Astrostress alongside 19-year-old Shamar Shattock. Astrostress.com offered clients various subscription levels based on the number and intensity of attacks, charging fees accordingly. Accomplices worldwide created accounts and used the site’s resources to attack “tens of thousands” of computers.
Esparza was responsible for acquiring servers for attacks and maintaining their functionality. He also assisted Shattock in promoting the service and hired customer support staff. Esparza used unauthorized computers to amplify attacks. Personally, Esparza conducted thousands of attacks using Astrostress.
From September 2021 to September 2022, Astrostress clients attacked tens of thousands of secured computers, rendering them inaccessible. In September 2022, after the FBI shut down the site, Esparza left Shattock a voicemail instructing him to “wipe” all their social media accounts to erase any connection to the service. Shattock pleaded guilty in March 2023 to conspiracy charges and faces up to 5 years in prison at the upcoming sentencing.
