Do not help launch DDoS traffic attacks; do not sell or rent “stress-test” traffic platforms; if you lose a game, do not attack the other side’s servers either

Using DDoS so others’ websites, servers, or games cannot open is the crime of destroying a computer information system. Serious consequences bring up to 5 years; especially serious consequences bring 5 years or more. People who pay a platform to attack are also joint offenders. Someone who ran a DDoS site collecting membership fees and taking orders got between 10 months and 5 years 6 months

Cost

No money spent. DDoS means controlling many machines to send requests at a target at once until the server is unusable. The trade-off is dropping a per-hit or packaged traffic business, and also holding back a moment of anger. When conflict arises in a game or in business, use reports, complaints, and police reports — do not pay someone to attack

Benefit

Interfering with the functions of a computer information system so it cannot run normally, with serious consequences, brings up to 5 years of fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention. Especially serious consequences bring 5 years or more. Courts treat DDoS as the “interference” here. “Serious consequences” has several standards. One is that the main software or hardware of 10 or more computer information systems cannot run normally. One is illegal gains of 5000 yuan or more, or economic losses of 10000 yuan or more. Another is that a system serving 10000 or more users cannot run normally for a cumulative 1 hour or more. Machine counts or money amounts at 5 times those figures count as especially serious consequences. Knowing someone is committing such destruction and still providing programs or tools for destruction is punished as joint crime. The threshold is illegal gains of 5000 yuan or more, or providing to 10 person-times or more. Providing server hosting, technical support, and similar help with illegal gains of 5000 yuan or more is the same. Providing programs or tools specially used to intrude upon or illegally control computer information systems — at 20 person-times or more, or illegal gains of 5000 yuan or more — brings up to 3 years and a fine concurrently or alone. Below the criminal threshold, interfering with computer information system functions or providing such tools, when harm results, brings detention of up to 5 days, or 5 to 15 days if more serious. Official case 1 (Prosecutorial Example No. 69): In early 2017, Yao Xiaojie and others were hired to form the “Dark Night Group” abroad. They bought large amounts of server resources and used malware to launch DDoS. They attacked three times the IPs of three game companies on a cloud of an internet company; games could not log in and users dropped frequently. The victim company spent over 40000 yuan on emergency repair. In June (6) 2018, Shenzhen Nanshan court sentenced 11 people to 1 to 2 years for destroying a computer information system. Official case 2: In March (3) 2017 Tang and Wang built a DDoS website that could top up membership and submit attack tasks. They took orders and launched traffic attacks on over 80 target IPs. Nantong Haimen court sentenced Tang and others to between 10 months and 5 years 6 months for destroying a computer information system. Zhang, who ordered attacks on that site to suppress competitors, submitted over 100 attack tasks against 11 IPs or domains of rival companies. The court found the orderers and the site operators were joint offenders. The orderer was the one who initiated and was a principal offender. Official case 3: Wang built a DDoS platform and sold attacks under clear “bronze,” “silver,” “gold,” and “diamond” packages. Beijing Haidian procuratorate charged him with illegally using information networks; in 2020 first instance he got 1 year and a 50000 yuan fine (nationwide)

Notes

The beneficiary is you yourself. These platforms wear a “stress test” label. Testing your own system, or a system the other side has authorized you in writing to test, is a stress test. Hitting others’ servers is the same idea as item 9 (do not test others’ systems without written authorization). Which charge applies to running a platform that takes orders is not uniform across places. The Haimen case used destroying a computer information system, with a top of 5 years 6 months; the Haidian case used illegally using information networks and got 1 year. A People’s Court Daily commentary said practice is not entirely consistent, and the case library treats it as destroying a computer information system. In Prosecutorial Example No. 69, the attacked internet company filed a report. Public security sent the electronic data it provided to the Guangdong branch of CNCERT/CC for analysis, which found 14 control-end servers. Chat logs and bank records confirmed the purchase of control over those servers. Selling malware that controls others’ computers is in item 8 of this section (do not run your programs on others’ machines).

Sources · 6

1. 全国人大 (2020). 刑法（根据刑法修正案（十一）修正，第二百八十五条第三款、第二百八十六条、第二百八十七条之一）. jtgl.beijing.gov.cn/jgj/jgxx/flfg/fl/11033925…
2. 最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2011). 关于办理危害计算机信息系统安全刑事案件应用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2011〕19 号，第二、三、四、九、十一条）. ga.sz.gov.cn/ZWGK/ZCFG/ZCJD/content/post_1304…（深圳市公安局转载）；全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第三十三条）. spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202506/t20250627_699863.shtml
3. 最高人民检察院 (2020). 第十八批指导性案例（检例第 69 号，姚晓杰等 11 人破坏计算机信息系统案）. spp.gov.cn/spp/jczdal/202004/t20200408_458415…
4. 江苏省高级人民法院 (2020-09-24). 江苏法院发布危害网络安全犯罪典型案例（案例二：唐某等人犯破坏计算机信息系统案）. jsfy.gov.cn/article/91613.html
5. 人民法院报 (2025-02-08). 通过 DDoS 网站实施网络攻击行为的定罪量刑（人民法院案例库入库参考案例 2024-18-1-254-001 评析，山东法院网转载）. sdcourt.gov.cn/dyzy/372897/372899/33201805/in…
6. 最高人民检察院 (2020). 北京海淀区：DDoS 攻击平台案嫌疑人获刑. spp.gov.cn/spp/zdgz/202009/t20200901_478510.s…