FBI Denies Service to 15 DDoS-for-Hire Sites, Charges Operators

The FBI has taken down several of the largest DDoS-as-a-service sites on the web.

The Justice Department has taken 15 internet domains associated with DDoS-for-hire services offline, and has filed charges against three defendants who allegedly ran them.

DDoS for hire or DDoS-as-a-service operations make it simple for any layperson to carry out DDoS attacks, flooding targets with so much internet traffic that it overwhelms a site or IP address and knocks it offline. Stessor or booter services, as they’re known, allow users to simply pay a low-cost fee to direct those traffic floods to their intended targets without a requirement for deep technical knowledge.

Google workers want plug pulled on plan for China search

Google workers on Tuesday posted an open letter calling on the internet giant to abort plans for "a censored search" service in China or risk setting a dangerous precedent.

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai last month acknowledged publicly for the first time that the company is considering a search engine for China, saying it could offer "better information" to people than rival services.