The operator of an infamous service that allowed users to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks was sentenced on Monday to 24 months in prison.
The man, Matthew Gatrel, 33, of St. Charles, Illinois, was convicted in September 2021 on three counts of computer-related and wire fraud felonies.
According to court documents, Gatrel owned and operated DownThem.org – a website that allowed users to purchase subscriptions to launch powerful DDoS attacks – and AmpNode.com, which provided bulletproof hosting services to paying customers, and which also facilitated server spoofing and DDoS attack amplification.
Records obtained when DownThem was taken down in 2018 showed that the DDoS attack (or booting) service had roughly 2,000 users and had been used to launch over 200,000 attacks on targets such as government websites, financial institutions, schools, universities, and homes.
Gatrel offered customer support for both DownThem and AmpNode, providing users with guidance on how to launch DDoS attacks on different types of systems and on how to bypass DDoS protection services. He also used the service to demonstrate its DDoS capabilities.
DownThem provided customers with multiple subscription plans, differentiated in price and attack capability, some allowing users to launch several simultaneous attacks.
Juan Martinez, 29, of Pasadena, a co-administrator of DownThem and co-defendant in the case, who pleaded guilty in August 2021, was sentenced to five years’ probation.
Related: Authorities Track Down Users of DDoS Services
Related: Seventh Member of International Cyber Fraud Ring Sentenced to Prison
Related: Estonian Ransomware Operator Sentenced to Prison in US

More from Ionut Arghire
- High-Severity Vulnerabilities Patched in Splunk Enterprise
- Enzo Biochem Ransomware Attack Exposes Information of 2.5M Individuals
- Google Temporarily Offering $180,000 for Full Chain Chrome Exploit
- Toyota Discloses New Data Breach Involving Vehicle, Customer Information
- Adobe Inviting Researchers to Private Bug Bounty Program
- Critical Vulnerabilities Found in Faronics Education Software
- Chrome 114 Released With 18 Security Fixes
- Spyware Found in Google Play Apps With Over 420 Million Downloads
Latest News
- High-Severity Vulnerabilities Patched in Splunk Enterprise
- Idaho Hospitals Working to Resume Full Operations After Cyberattack
- Enzo Biochem Ransomware Attack Exposes Information of 2.5M Individuals
- Apple Denies Helping US Government Hack Russian iPhones
- Zero-Day in MOVEit File Transfer Software Exploited to Steal Data From Organizations
- Google Temporarily Offering $180,000 for Full Chain Chrome Exploit
- Russia Blames US Intelligence for iOS Zero-Click Attacks
- Toyota Discloses New Data Breach Involving Vehicle, Customer Information
