FBI Seizes Domain of 'Bulletproof' Hosting Provider Accused of Ignoring Abuse Complaints

The FBI has seized the domain virtualine.net, which belonged to a "bulletproof" hosting provider accused of enabling a range of cybercrimes. The Justice Department said a court authorised the seizure, and the site now displays a splashpage. The service operated under several names, including Secury, Massgod, Spamhouse, Lanedo and Omegatech. Bulletproof hosts are criminal businesses that rent out infrastructure on the promise that they will ignore abuse complaints and law enforcement requests.

According to court records, Virtualine advertised on cybercrime forums, offering hosting for "all illegal/black hat activities" such as phishing, carding and spam. Prosecutors allege it claimed to ban terrorism and child abuse material but did not enforce those rules. Authorities in Germany, Canada and Australia, along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, sent complaints in January about a forum it hosted. Instead of cutting off service, Virtualine allegedly helped the operators build another site. Prosecutors also say it accepted bitcoin through a service labelled "BTC [NO-AML]" and tried to launder the proceeds, though some payments were traceable to criminal groups.

The FBI's Washington Field Office led the investigation with help from authorities in Germany, the Netherlands and Britain, plus private partners OverRIPE and Lumen. No operators were named and no charges were announced at the time of the seizure. The action follows other international moves against bulletproof hosting providers, particularly Russia-linked services accused of supporting ransomware gangs.