# Sudanese Nationals Indicted in Extensive DDoS Assaults on Global Tech Leaders and Vital Infrastructure
In a pivotal move in the battle against cybercrime, federal officials have indicted two Sudanese nationals for masterminding a series of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks that impaired several of the globe’s foremost technology firms, governmental bodies, and vital infrastructure. The assaults, executed under the guise of “Anonymous Sudan,” targeted a diverse range of organizations, including hospitals, governmental sites, and significant tech corporations like Microsoft, OpenAI, and PayPal.
## The Magnitude of the Attacks
The two siblings, Ahmed Salah Yousif Omer, 22, and Alaa Salah Yusuuf Omer, 27, are charged with running a DDoS scheme that severely disrupted both public and private sectors. As stated by federal prosecutors, the operation conducted tens of thousands of DDoS attacks, significantly impacting the services of major tech enterprises, hospitals, and government institutions.
Among the prominent targets were:
– **Major Tech Companies**: Microsoft, OpenAI, Riot Games, PayPal, Steam, Hulu, Netflix, Reddit, GitHub, and Cloudflare.
– **Essential Infrastructure**: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the US Departments of Justice, Defense, and State, the FBI, and state government websites in Alabama.
– **Media and News**: CNN.com.
– **International Targets**: Various sites and servers throughout Europe.
The breadth and intensity of these attacks underscore the increasing menace posed by cybercriminals utilizing DDoS tools to disrupt essential services and crucial infrastructure.
## Charges and Potential Penalties
The two brothers face grave accusations for their supposed involvement in the cyberattacks. Both have been indicted with a single count of conspiracy to damage protected computers. Furthermore, Ahmed Salah faces three counts of damaging protected computers. One of the most concerning allegations is that one of the brothers allegedly attempted to “knowingly and recklessly cause death” through their cyber assaults.
If found guilty on all counts, Ahmed Salah could be sentenced to life in federal prison, while his brother Alaa Salah could face a maximum of five years in federal prison.
## The Consequences of the Attacks
The DDoS attacks executed by Anonymous Sudan were not just disruptive but also perilous. The group’s activities were labeled by US Attorney Martin Estrada as “callous and brazen,” with the assailants even targeting hospitals that deliver emergency services.
For instance, an assault on Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles extended for eight hours, compelling the hospital’s emergency department to refuse incoming patients and redirect them to alternative medical facilities. Such interruptions in healthcare services can lead to life-threatening scenarios, particularly in emergencies.
In another occurrence, Anonymous Sudan initiated a five-day DDoS attack on Microsoft’s Outlook webmail service in June 2023, rendering the service unusable for protracted periods. The group even publicly mocked Microsoft, asserting their control over the company’s services. “Microsoft, the fate of your services is under our hands, we decide when to shut it down and when to leave it open,” one message from the group’s Telegram channel proclaimed.
The group also aimed at OpenAI’s ChatGPT, claiming to have taken portions of the service offline in November 2023. These attacks reveal the extensive implications of DDoS attacks on both daily users and the firms providing critical online services.
## Monetizing Cyberattacks
Besides executing their own attacks, the brothers purportedly profited from their DDoS tool by marketing it as a subscription service for paying clients. According to prosecutors, the service was promoted on various platforms, with pricing tiers contingent on the duration and intensity of the attacks.
For example, a package advertised in November 2023 charged $100 for one day of access, $600 for a week, and $1,700 for a month. By February 2024, the service was offering a “botnet with a power of up to 2 TB” for $300 daily, enabling customers to initiate up to 100 attacks every day.
This business model of vending DDoS capabilities to outside parties introduces further complexity to the case, indicating that the brothers were not merely cybercriminals but also facilitators for larger cyber assaults by other malicious entities.
## Law Enforcement Action
In March 2024, federal officials acted decisively by securing a court order to seize vital components of the Anonymous Sudan DDoS infrastructure. This included computer servers that initiated and controlled the DDoS attacks, along with accounts housing the source code for the DDoS tools. These seizures constitute a substantial blow to the group’s capacity to sustain its operations.
However, prosecutors have yet to reveal the location of the two defendants or whether they are set to appear in court. It remains uncertain whether the
