Dutch Police Seizes 250 Servers Utilized By “Bulletproof Hosting” Service

Have you ever considered what happens when police shut down servers that are utilized by hackers? I had this thought, particularly, when I read that Dutch police seized 250 servers from a hosting company that was helping keep cybercriminals hidden. That is a significant action.

What Happened​

How did the police seize the servers

The Dutch police stated that they seized approximately 250 physical servers from data centers located in The Hague and Zoetermeer. By taking these servers, many thousands of virtual machines (VMs) that operated from these physical servers also went offline.

Who Used The Servers​

The hosting company (whose name was not disclosed) emerged on the radar in 2022 and had been associated with more than 80 crime investigations. This hosting company was hosting:

• ransomware,
• botnets,
• phishing websites, and
• even child abuse material.

This hosting service was operating as one of the classic "bulletproof hosting."

Why This Is Significant​

Bulletproof hosting refers to a hosting arrangement that will disregard rules. They will allow whatever to be hosted on their servers, even illegal stuff.

They do not respond to abuse reports and they accept crypto for payments. They do not require any real ID to be created.

Why Police Action Matters​

• It demonstrates that police can hit main servers, not just the smaller parts.
• Many criminal tools went offline all at once.
• It warns normal users to check their hosting provider to see if it is safe and/or trusted.

There is an instance, during my old life, where I went with a hosting provider, and didn't check that hosting provider properly; only to find out later that they were hosting bad websites too and were nothing but trouble. Since that time, I now always check with my hosting provider if I am going to rent a server and what their position is on proceeds of the crime.

Action Steps If You Are Using a Hosting Provider​

That does not require too much from the host, but here are some simple steps you can take to make sure you are safe:

• Read the hosting provider's policy
• See if the hosting provider actually takes care of abuse reports or inquiries
• Check is the hosting provider does a KYC (Know Your Customer)
• Watch your server for unknown and strange behaviour
• Have backups in case the hosting provider shuts down
• Have a plan to move to another sever if needed

I now have a second backup host set up because you never know what can happen.

Conclusion​

The Seizure of 250 Servers by Dutch Police is a strong reminder: no hosting company is too big, or too hidden, to be taken down. So if you run a website, or provide a service, just be prepared, back up your content, and choose a provider you trust.