UK teen arrested for Call of Duty DDOS

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 10 December, 2010

"Phenom Booter" cripples shooter.

A Manchester teenager was arrested after preventing thousands of players from logging on to Call of Duty using a DDOS program.

The 17 year-old was arrested on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act after using his own malicious Denial of Service program, called Phenom Booter, to prevent others from playing Activision's FPS online.

Scotland Yard's Central e-Crime Unit traced the teenager's IP address after Activision contacted the police in September.

A police source told The Sun: "His whole world came crashing down when we knocked on his door at 6am.

"He was still in bed and didn't realise he was in so much trouble."

Det Insp Paul Hoare told the BBC: "Online gaming is a major retail sector with millions of titles being sold in the run-up to Christmas worldwide.

"Programs marketed in order to disrupt the online infrastructure not only affect individual players but have commercial and reputational consequences for the companies concerned.

"These games attract both children and young people to the online environment and this type of crime can often be the precursor to further offending in more traditional areas of online crime."

Call Of Duty: Black Ops is the seventh best-selling game of all time in the US after only three weeks on sale.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (74) Latest comment 1 year ago

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  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #1 1 year ago

    "These games attract both children and young people to the online environment" They shouldnt its clearly marked 18, Naughty copper!

  • Lexx87 #2 1 year ago

    Haha I hope he gets totally owned :p

  • djed #3 1 year ago

    "[...]this type of crime can often be the precursor to further offending in more traditional areas of online crime."

    Oh do feel free to spout you bullshit anywhere you feel like, cockroach.

  • FireMonkey #4 1 year ago

    @GamesProgrammer - He's just stating that they do attract children and young people not that they should.
    Anyway in the UK it is fine for a kid to play these games they just can't buy them.

  • M_of_the_sys #5 1 year ago

    Activision causes innocent teenager's world to come crashing down around him.

    /spin

  • AcidSnake #6 1 year ago

    Activision contacted the police in September
    Am I reading it wrong?
    How could he have prevented people from playing in September if the game wasn't even released?

  • bad09 #7 1 year ago

    What was the point? Obviously angry none of the girls talk to him.

  • AaronTurner #8 1 year ago

    Why didn't they just ban him from Xbox Live rather than get police involved? Fucking ridiculous.

  • butler` #9 1 year ago

    djed

    it's true though, isn't it?

    if he's DDOSing activitision's servers at 17 and they don't arrest him and put him off the idea that it's safe and anonymous, he could well end up pointing his botnet toward stealing credit card information or whatever else he fances.

  • oreillymj #10 1 year ago

    @cheekybyname Why is it some people just feel the need to be a c*nt.

    I believe the chap in question was from Manchester

  • BabyJesus #11 1 year ago

    Silly boy.

  • slippysloppy #12 1 year ago

    You get in less trouble for carrying a knife

  • el_pollo_diablo #13 1 year ago

    DDOS is all the rage at the moment.

  • djed #14 1 year ago

    @acidsnake

    Good question. The original news bulletin doesn't mention anything about Black Ops.
    Here's a link

  • FireMonkey #15 1 year ago

    @djed - The fact is, he has written his own DDOS program to kick people from a game. If he is already in the mindset that it is fine to do this, then it wouldn't be a huge leap to targeting a business that he doesn't like and costing them money (potentially bring the business down if it is on-line only).
    It was a DDOS attack that took minecraft down a while ago wasn't it. That was probably done by some little git like this and could have really harmed the devs if they hadn't managed to move to a more secure server.

  • Mkwone #16 1 year ago

    Fully support this. To steal a football chant.

    GET INTO THEM,
    FUCK THEM UP

  • butler` #17 1 year ago

    @AaronTurner he wasn't DDOSing it from his 360 lol

  • kangarootoo #18 1 year ago

    @djed

    "[...]this type of crime can often be the precursor to further offending in more traditional areas of online crime"

    Is that so untrue? That somebody who writes their own DDOS routines is no more likely to go on to do other illegal things online, than someone who does not?

    That actually sounds like a pretty reasonable prediction to me.

  • tossetaz #19 1 year ago

    Quite week server infrastructure if they are affected by a ddos from a single computer on a single connection. Shame on you activision!

  • RobotRocker #20 1 year ago

    Always knew that Inspector Knacker hated people boosting.

  • rivuzu #21 1 year ago

    Awareness of how fucked over you can get for doing things like this needs to be promoted. He probably didn't even think that much into it when it was done, but I'm glad he was caught. Cheeky bastard shouldn't be ruining other peoples entertainment.

  • kangarootoo #22 1 year ago

    @AaronTurner

    "Why didn't they just ban him from Xbox Live rather than get police involved? Fucking ridiculous."

    Err, because what he did was illegal?

  • kangarootoo #23 1 year ago

    @tossetaz

    "from a single computer on a single connection"

    I think you misunderstand the difference between a denial of service attack (DoS), and a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS). A DDoS is never from a single computer on a single connection, that is kind of the point.

    Edit: though I concede, EG don't seem to know the difference either, which won't help matters.
    Edited by kangarootoo at 10/12/10 @ 11:36

  • CaptainQuint #24 1 year ago

    I bet the scrawny little shit was still in his undies when he answered the door. Horrible little cunt.

  • ryandsimmons #25 1 year ago

    Quite week server infrastructure if they are affected by a ddos from a single computer on a single connection. Shame on you activision!

    The DDOS was quite widespread. The police tracked him as the source, he was selling the program from his own IP address. Surprisingly the BBC actually explains what he did when EG doesn't.

    Essentially the program created major lag, which allowed the user to gain a massive advantage in the game. It was all about scoring more points. He was selling the program that did this.

  • Mkwone #26 1 year ago

    @CaptainQuint

    I'm guessing the police didn't give him chance to open the door, and rather the first thing he saw when he woke up was a bloke standing over him as he lay in bed.

  • arcam #27 1 year ago

    Idiot.

    Save your DDOS attacks for Paypal.

  • butler` #28 1 year ago

    nice idea to make money tbh, should probably have sold the code via secure proxy in Uzbekistan or something rather than his own IP lulz

  • geeza2020 #29 1 year ago

    little shite. I bet he's not got a job and is on benefits too the cnut.

  • FreakyZoid #30 1 year ago

    How could he have prevented people from playing in September if the game wasn't even released?

    Because Wesley, being the stellar journalist that he is, has just added that Black Ops bit at the bottom, when the story is clearly about some other Call of Duty game.

    You would think someone writing on a specialist site would realise things like this, wouldn't you?

  • andywilkie35 #31 1 year ago

    Good shit, nothing wrong with seeing nerds locked up

  • Shikasama #32 1 year ago

    slippysloppy - Carrying a knife doesn't cost big companies money, therefore isn't as serious.

  • FortysixterUK #33 1 year ago

    Good, the pillock deserves what he gets. Which will be a caution if it's a first time offence, and possibly some kind of user ban on the xbox. Would be nice to see a usage ban for him on privately owned PC's and have his 'net service denied. If they seize his PC and find unsavoury items on it ( indecent images and so forth) during the course of the investigation, that would take the offence above a caution.

    I'm not familiar with this DDOS program, but I know a person that lives close to me who says that they know how to "block the IP of anyone who upsets them on xbox live. As they are a tad odd anyway and will likely become a serial killer in later life,( and is a general social reject), I wouldn't put it pass this person to do such a thing".

    Virus production or hacking is just malicious and people who do it need to be dealt with firmly and harshly.

  • MerricK #34 1 year ago

    i hope the arresting officer got +200 experience points - +50 avenger medal and +50 payback and +100 buzzkill!

  • slippysloppy #35 1 year ago

    @Shikasama Too true. Maybe you've hit on the solution to world peace. Every time someone steps out of line Microsoft, Sony or Apple get fined. All crime as we know it would stop, endless prisons would be built and wars would be a thing of the past. Not to mention the increase in the criminal 'suicide' rate.

    Who would have thought it EG putting the world to rights.

  • bumgut #36 1 year ago

    Not so much Assange, more ass.

  • OneClassyBloke #37 1 year ago

    Didn't like the police's attitude, although that might just be the Sun talking.

  • drxym #38 1 year ago

    Why the hell would anyone want to DDOS a game? It's bad enough to see those 4chan nitwits doing it, but I suppose they could lamely claim it's a political act (although it isn't). But a game? Talk about stupid.

  • CalmBlueOcean #39 1 year ago

    Why was he DDoSing though?

    It's easy to call him a little shit, but there's easily a million COD players who I'd like to see get much worse treatment than just a DDoS attack.

    For all we know this guy might have been the greatest net vigilante of all time, keeping sploiters and racists off COD with his uber-hacker skillz?

  • Fab4 #40 1 year ago

    Its these little fuckers who are infecting your PCs, on a regular basis, to be part of their botnet. And they somehow become the saviours of free speech because they are 'sticking it to the man'. Lets hope they are too busy doing that to use the personal info they've harvested with their key-loggers.

  • BuddyChrist #41 1 year ago

    "I fancy stomping on the sandcastles of the masses."

    he should get a slap of the wrist for each person that affected IN ONE HIT.... So a good slap x 430536

  • 32768Colours #42 1 year ago

    "Programs marketed in order to disrupt the online infrastructure not only affect individual players but have commercial and reputational consequences for the companies concerned"

    Presumably if it only affected individual players this sort of thing would be fine then. Quick! A massive corporation could lose profitability! Scotland Yard to the rescue!!!

    /Flippant

    Seriously though, I agree behaviour like this needs to be stamped out quickly, because as mentioned elsewhere, it doesn't seem like a huge leap of faith to see how letting someone get away with this kind of thing could lead to far more damaging actions. I don't approve of controlling legitimate content on the internet, but policing it to make it a more secure environment for everyone can only be a good thing if you ask me.

  • butler` #43 1 year ago

    Why the hell would anyone want to DDOS a game?

    Yea who would want to cheat at a game, what a novel concept. Not heard that one before.

  • butler` #44 1 year ago

    @Fab4

    why are you trying to draw comparisons between this and the wikileaks DDOS attacks where there are none?
    Edited by butler` at 10/12/10 @ 12:51

  • FireMonkey #45 1 year ago

    @Butler - "why are you trying to draw comparisons between this and the wikileaks DDOS attacks where there are none?"

    apart from the fact they were both DDOS attacks maybe?

  • Futaba #46 1 year ago

    Anybody who annoys activision is fine by me.

  • rudedudejude #47 1 year ago

    Don't go after the users, get the dealers!

  • infoxicated #48 1 year ago

    I hope the little bastard shat his pants good and proper.

  • OllyJ #49 1 year ago

    Bang his parents up too, the games an 18 right? Right!!

    RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!

  • AliRay #50 1 year ago

    He'll have a job at EA as soon as he turns 18.

  • XBoxDragon #51 1 year ago

    @OllyJ unfortunately, assuming he didn't buy it himself, even if it is an 18 ( which I'm not sure if modern warfare 2 was, think that might only have been a 15 ), that law only applies to purchasing/seeing at cinema, not using at home.

  • waynenot #52 1 year ago

    Take him prisoner, comrades!

  • Fab4 #53 1 year ago

    "why are you trying to draw comparisons between this and the wikileaks DDOS attacks where there are none? "

    Because its the same mindset that both are drawn from. Fucking script-kiddies.

  • coolbritannia #54 1 year ago

    lol, owned by his own care package.

  • butler` #55 1 year ago

    @FireMonkey

    no, that would be a comparison where there is one to be made. I wasn't feeling the link between this case and the point about freedom of speech... :p

    but i suppose it is borne of the same mindset.
    Edited by butler` at 10/12/10 @ 14:20

  • kangarootoo #56 1 year ago

    @butler`

    Two things.

    Freedom of speech and the removal of privacy aren't the same thing (not saying the wikileaks info should have been kept secret - just saying that it isn't a freedom of speech issue, any more than me having access to your personal diary or medical records is about freedom of speech). Freedom of speech is too often a guise used by hackers for things that are nothing of the sort (or sometimes they just say "information wants to be free", which of course means absolutely nothing at all).

    Again I say, I'm not against wikileaks, and the principle of whilstle blowing (PROPER whistle blowing) is a very sound one. But what happened recently wasn't whilstle blowing, it was wholesale dumping of private data (some of which SHOULD be made public, and some of which shouldn't). That isn't freedom of speech.



    Second, the guys that are directing DDoS attacks at PayPal aren't doing so because they really care about Wikileaks, not really. They are doing it because it makes them feel like some kind of people's champion, because it makes them feel special when they would otherwise not. And indeed that is same mindset that Fab4 and yourself seem to agree on I believe. If they REALLY cared, they would put a stopper on their personal anger and do choose something to do based on the likelyhood of it making an actual difference (which those purile DDoS attacks certainly won't do, by any stretch of the imagination).

  • arcam #57 1 year ago

    Second, the guys that are directing DDoS attacks at PayPal aren't doing so because they really care about Wikileaks, not really. They are doing it because it makes them feel like some kind of people's champion, because it makes them feel special when they would otherwise not.

    Come on, you have no idea of the inner feelings of anyone involved.

  • SwedBear #58 1 year ago

    kangarootoo: Fully agree. They had an interview in a Swedish newspaper this morning with some of the anonymous hackers (they joined one of the chats where they coordinate attacks) and while one of them said they did it "for the freedom of spoeech on the ne" he also added that he also did it "because it was fun".

    I think the DDOS-attacks hurts Wikileaks way more than help them. They paint the picture that Wikileaks-fanboys are hackers that like to distrupt and destroy for those they dont agree with. To the general public they won't been seen as "heroes".

    And I agree that while Wikileaks is important as a "whistle-blower" site the last release has little to do with whistle-blowing. Society and relationships between human beings does not work without the ability for confidential discussions.

    I hope the new Openleak site will work better as I think Wikileaks has become to much about Assange and less about what Wikileaks was supposed to be about.

  • kangarootoo #59 1 year ago

    @arcam

    Well ok, let me put it another way. That sort of action DOES NOT WORK. So either the person doing it doesn't realise that because are a bit thick, or they are deluding themselves to maintain the fantasy of being special, or they don't care.

    Now The poeple who carry out these sorts of hacks are usually quite smart, so I shall happily discount the first option in most cases.

    So we are left with delusional misfits who want to feel heroic, or people who do it for fun and don't really care about the consequences. By saying they don't care, I am perhaps giving them the benefit of the doubt.

  • arcam #60 1 year ago

    Well OK, but that's completely different to what you just said.

    These are mostly people from 4Chan who have downloaded a simple botnet program - if you've ever been to 4Chan you'll know that being smart is not a prerequisite. But you'd also know that there are many, many people that genuinely care about the fate of WIkileaks, and I've no doubt that some of them are involved.

    They aren't hackers, they are people who download a program and click a button when someone says go. Anyone could do it, and it doesn't make you special.

    misfits who want to feel heroic, or people who do it for fun

    Wrong wrong wrong. Again you have no idea who these people are or their motivations.

    It's a protest, plain and simple. Like the Iraq war or student tuition fees, these things often DON'T WORK, but you have to be a real cynic to say people are only doing it to feel special.

    Xmas party now, can't continue the debate, but I wish I could. It's an interesting one.

    Edited by arcam at 10/12/10 @ 15:08

  • kangarootoo #61 1 year ago

    @arcam

    Ok, remove the heroism aspect. I concede that is a little lame of me. I still count dense, deluded or careless as the three options though. We all know that stacking an Amazon server will not achieve the end goals of the people doing it, and might even harm their cause. But still they do it. So what other options are we left with.

    Enjoy the party!

  • 8bitMofo #62 1 year ago

    Caught via IP?

    Amateur.

  • OllyJ #63 1 year ago

    @xboxdragon

    I know, I was kneejerking for fun!

  • retr0gamer #64 1 year ago

    Would have never happened in the first place with dedicated server support.

  • butler` #65 1 year ago

    @kanga

    The information was not wholesale dumped, it has been stringently drip fed and there have been numerous cables held back. There is no doubt information that could cause deaths, or wars.

    I'd never argue about the futility of DDOS attacks. But I do think you're missing the point somewhat. It's just a form of protest; an echo of the level of discontent on the back of what is, for all intents and purposes, the first infowar ever.

    Numerous illegal activities have been revealed and only the publisher of those facts has been arrested.

    disclaimer: i'm openly and vehemently pro-wikileaks

  • kangarootoo #66 1 year ago

    @butler`

    More than 250,000 documents doesn't sound that stringent to me. There may have been some cables held back, but is the purpose of whilstle blowing not that you specifically target information that needs to be public, not specifically sleect information to withold?

    As for "It's just a form of protest", well I guess that is at the root of how I feel about this subject. People put too much stock in protesting simply for its own sake. In taking advantage of their "right to protest", for seemingly no reason other than because they can. Whenever people take it upon themselves to protest, in all its many forms, the very last question anyone seems to be asking is whether it will actually make a difference. I mean a real difference, not just whether it will make them personally feel better.

    What happened to actually achieving something? Is that not important too? Not just letting people know you are annoyed, but actually changing the thing that you feel is wrong? If people are so intent on supporting wikileaks and what it stands for, why do something so pointless as a DDoS, which as you say is "just a protest".



    "Numerous illegal activities have been revealed and only the publisher of those facts has been arrested."

    Now this is a more complex situation than it is often presented as being, on both sides. The charges against him are not "releasing sensitive data", but sexual assault. I know some US senators seem to have it in their heads that he is being arrested for terrorism, but they are idiots. It is in no way right or proper that his trial should be biased by people seeking what they see as punishment for releasing the documents, but neither should his trial be biased in the other direction by people who support wiki leaks. Regardless of how you feel about wikileaks, if he is guilty of sexual assault he should be found guilty and sentenced, and if he is innocent of sexual assault he should be let go.

    If others have been involved in illegal activities, and those activities have now been revealed, I would hope those revelations form evidence that can be used to prosecute them. But that is a separate matter, and we shouldn't be suggesting that just because it turns out Shell have been influencing African politics, a man accused of sexual assault shouldn't be subject to the machinery of law.

  • rivuzu #67 1 year ago

    I suppose it couldn't be helped that a topic based around a kid with some code has inevitably become a place for political discussion surrounding the Wikileaks fiasco, what with the current methods employed by "hacktivists". It's a bit off topic, but hey ho.

    As for Wikileaks, I agree that these actions are damaging towards the group. It's quite contradictory for a group who seem to pride themselves on transparency with their releases to have followers employing such illegal methods as DDoS attacks against large, multinational companies - but at the same time, I think it's also a good thing. These people wouldn't have done so unless there was provocation for it, and if anything shows how much some certain members of the public are willing to go to great lengths in order to - perhaps not defend - but claim a form of vengence against those they see as being unscrupulous. We have a group of self imposed vigilante nerds basically, who are confusing their ambition with their ego.

    It's a double edged sword. Yes, the response from the public (or certain areas) is now ever clear about why Wikileaks should remain and why they should back off from their restrictive measures.

    I'm pro Wikileaks. It's about time we, as a people, knew exactly what kind of shameless acts are taken place by our leaders and their cabinets.

  • arcam #68 1 year ago

    I appreciate that DDOSing isn't the most effective tactic, but I also appreciate that it's hard for people to do something that might really help. Donating is the most effective thing most people can do, but that has been made extremely difficult. When support is being cut off at every avenue, I understand why people would resort to so-called dirty tactics. What else is left when trying to fight against powerful governments and even more powerful corporations?

    It may not be the most useful tactic, but I have sympathy for people who feel so helpless that they resort to attacking government websites and smashing investment bank windows.

    edit: thanks kanga, merry Christmas to you too buddy :)
    Edited by arcam at 10/12/10 @ 17:30

  • butler` #69 1 year ago

    if he is guilty of sexual assault he should be found guilty and sentenced

    of course, and i would never say otherwise, but read the facts:

    "One of the charges is that he had unprotected sex with a woman, identified only as Miss A, when she insisted he use a condom. Another is that he had unprotected sex with another woman, Miss W, while she was asleep."

    Sweden is bending over for the US due to diplomatic pressure. And, worst of all, we're being used as a pawn and acting like a police state by holding the guy without bail!

    And again, what is the protest achieving? Exposure, exposure, exposure...

  • obihobson #70 1 year ago

    come on guys this kid was clearly a bell end, however your missing the point of the wikkileaks thing!!!

    FUCK THE MAN
    WHOOP
    Edited by obihobson at 10/12/10 @ 18:50

  • obihobson #71 1 year ago

    kangaroot,,

    i didnt read your entire post because it was very long and been a gamer i have ADHD

    come on dude these sexual crimes things against this dude are clearly fabrications the MAN is using to screw this guy!! I cant understand why he did it anyway what the hell was he thinking, either he is the worlds most mental attention seeker or he had a serious point to make about the way the world is run!!
    I like to think the latter anything else just doesn't make sense

  • ZizouFC #72 1 year ago

    Never though I'd say this but I sent this tip in, and it does suck that Eurogamer don't credit the tipper (?).

    Although I could've been one of many who sent this in... and i don't wanna sound like a whiney asshole. So nevermind then.

  • butler` #73 1 year ago

    More than 250,000 documents doesn't sound that stringent to me.

    didn't actually pick up on this the first time:)

    they've released 1295 of them at the time of writing so i'd wager that you're arguing about something you don't know much about.

  • kangarootoo #74 1 year ago

    @butler`

    He has released 1295 of them widely. Three papers have been given full access.