https://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/10/feds-charge-two-in-lizard-squad-investigation/
Unsurprisingly, it looks like they simply paid to point an existing botnet at whatever service or site they wanted. Good news is that botnet operator has recently been exposed. Bad news is that a different piece of botnet control software has recently been open sourced and things could get real nasty. Read up on Krebs's site for more info on that if interested
The U.S. Justice Department has charged two 19-year-old men alleged to be core members of the hacking groups Lizard Squad and PoodleCorp. The pair are charged with credit card theft and operating so-called booteror stresser services that allowed paying customers to launch powerful attacks designed to knock Web sites offline.
Federal investigators charged Zachary Buchta of Fallston, Md., and Bradley Jan Willem Van Rooy of Leiden, the Netherlands with conspiring to cause damage to protected computers.
These are the dudes that claimed credit for taking down XBL/PSN during the holidays, for those who don't remember.The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison.
Unsurprisingly, it looks like they simply paid to point an existing botnet at whatever service or site they wanted. Good news is that botnet operator has recently been exposed. Bad news is that a different piece of botnet control software has recently been open sourced and things could get real nasty. Read up on Krebs's site for more info on that if interested