NightmareStresser had 566,000+ registered users
Assessment
The figure comes from a late-2023 Searchlight Cyber report, cited by multiple outlets covering the September 2026 seizure, and describes cumulative registered signups nearly three years before takedown — not a government-confirmed count and not necessarily the active customer base at the time of seizure. A separate, independent researcher's estimate given to CyberScoop the same week put realistic active usage at "tens of thousands."
Where this claim appeared
The Hacker News (citing Searchlight Cyber) · 2026-09-17
https://thehackernews.com/2026/09/us-seizes-nightmarestresser-domains.htmlWhat “Assessed, Not Confirmed” means
A named source states this as its own assessment, at its own stated confidence, rather than as established fact. Attribution to a nation state usually sits here. The assessment is real and reportable; treating it as settled is the error.
4 of 5 · rating scale
Assessed in
NightmareStresser DDoS-for-hire domains seized — the same brand the FBI already took down onceThink this assessment is wrong? Report an error.