A federal grand jury has indicted two Sudanese nationals, accusing them of controlling Anonymous Sudan, a notorious cybercriminal group responsible for launching tens of thousands of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on critical infrastructure and government agencies across the U.S. and globally.
In March 2024, U.S. authorities, in collaboration with the FBI, successfully seized and disabled Anonymous Sudan’s powerful DDoS tool, which was used to execute these attacks. The tool was allegedly sold to other cybercriminals as part of a DDoS-for-hire service.
The two accused 22-year-old Ahmed Salah Yousif Omer and 27-year-old Alaa Salah Yusuuf Omer, have been charged with conspiracy to damage protected computers. Ahmed Salah faces additional charges for damaging protected computers.
According to U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, Anonymous Sudan targeted governments and businesses, including hospitals, causing significant harm. “Their actions were reckless, impacting emergency care facilities and critical infrastructure,” he said. The FBI’s Rebecca Day praised the successful disabling of the group’s DDoS platform, emphasizing the agency’s commitment to combating cybercrime.
Since early 2023, Anonymous Sudan’s DDoS tool, known as the Distributed Cloud Attack Tool (DCAT), was responsible for over 35,000 attacks globally, with victims ranging from U.S. government agencies to private tech giants like Microsoft and Riot Games. One attack even disrupted emergency services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, resulting in over $10 million in damages.
