Oregon Man Charged in ‘Rapper Bot’ DDoS Service

What’s new: Ethan J. Foltz, a 22-year-old from Oregon, has been arrested for allegedly operating “Rapper Bot,” a botnet used for launching distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. The botnet, which consisted of tens of thousands of compromised IoT devices, was reportedly involved in a significant DDoS attack that affected Twitter/X in March 2025. Foltz and an accomplice are accused of renting out the botnet to extortionists, conducting over 370,000 attacks on various targets, primarily in China, Japan, and the U.S.

Who’s affected

Organizations and individuals targeted by the Rapper Bot DDoS attacks include online businesses, particularly gambling operations, and various networks across multiple countries. The attacks have caused significant disruptions and financial impacts on the victims.

What to do

• Review your network security measures to ensure robust DDoS protection is in place.
• Consider implementing DDoS mitigation services to handle potential attacks effectively.
• Monitor your IoT devices for vulnerabilities and ensure they are secured against unauthorized access.

Sources

• Krebs on Security