Inside the Bulletproof Hosting Network Behind 16,000+ Fake Shops
Fibergrid has operated as a bulletproof hosting provider for nearly a decade, currently hosting 16,700 active fraudulent e-commerce sites. The network exploits stolen African IPv4 address space worth $20-25 million, originally acquired through improper AFRINIC registrations. Despite claiming Seychelles-based operations, multilateration analysis reveals infrastructure concentrated in the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, and other Western countries, primarily within Equinix data centers. Fibergrid operates through a complex web of UK and Estonian shell companies using multiple autonomous systems to evade detection and enforcement. Fake shops constitute 70% of malicious activity on this infrastructure, targeting consumers through search engines and social media with counterfeit goods and payment fraud schemes. Disruption opportunities exist through upstream provider intervention, regional internet registry action, domain-level takedowns, and indicator sharing with security providers.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
Fibergrid operates a bulletproof hosting network that supports over 16,700 active fraudulent e-commerce sites, primarily fake shops selling counterfeit goods and conducting payment fraud. The network exploits stolen African IPv4 address space valued at $20-25 million, acquired via improper AFRINIC registrations. Despite claims of Seychelles-based operations, multilateration analysis shows infrastructure concentrated in Western data centers, mainly Equinix facilities in the US, UK, Netherlands, and Canada. Fibergrid uses a complex web of shell companies and multiple autonomous systems to evade detection and enforcement actions. The campaign leverages domain names linked to these fake shops, which target consumers through search engines and social media. Mitigation opportunities include upstream provider cooperation, regional internet registry intervention, domain-level takedowns, and indicator sharing with security vendors. This is a campaign-level threat involving hosting abuse and fraud rather than a software vulnerability.
Potential Impact
The impact involves widespread consumer fraud through fake e-commerce shops hosted on Fibergrid's bulletproof hosting infrastructure. Victims may be exposed to counterfeit goods and payment fraud schemes. The abuse of stolen IP address space and evasion tactics complicate enforcement and takedown efforts. While no direct software exploitation is involved, the scale of fraudulent activity poses significant financial and reputational risks to consumers and legitimate businesses.
Mitigation Recommendations
There is no software patch or direct fix for this hosting abuse campaign. Mitigation relies on coordinated actions including upstream provider intervention to disrupt hosting services, regional internet registry (AFRINIC) enforcement to reclaim stolen IP address space, domain-level takedowns of fraudulent sites, and sharing of indicators with security providers to enhance detection and blocking. Organizations should monitor and block known malicious domains associated with this campaign. Vendor advisories or official fixes are not applicable as this is a hosting and fraud campaign.
Indicators of Compromise
- domain: air-upsuomi.fi
- domain: airupfranceshop.fr
- domain: airuppullosuomi.com
- domain: airupsweden.com
- domain: bratziezpuertorico.com
- domain: pinkpalmpuffnetherland.com
- domain: timberlandsromania.cc
- domain: ultimateearsindia.com
- domain: zapatilasbrookar.com
Inside the Bulletproof Hosting Network Behind 16,000+ Fake Shops
Description
Fibergrid has operated as a bulletproof hosting provider for nearly a decade, currently hosting 16,700 active fraudulent e-commerce sites. The network exploits stolen African IPv4 address space worth $20-25 million, originally acquired through improper AFRINIC registrations. Despite claiming Seychelles-based operations, multilateration analysis reveals infrastructure concentrated in the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, and other Western countries, primarily within Equinix data centers. Fibergrid operates through a complex web of UK and Estonian shell companies using multiple autonomous systems to evade detection and enforcement. Fake shops constitute 70% of malicious activity on this infrastructure, targeting consumers through search engines and social media with counterfeit goods and payment fraud schemes. Disruption opportunities exist through upstream provider intervention, regional internet registry action, domain-level takedowns, and indicator sharing with security providers.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
Fibergrid operates a bulletproof hosting network that supports over 16,700 active fraudulent e-commerce sites, primarily fake shops selling counterfeit goods and conducting payment fraud. The network exploits stolen African IPv4 address space valued at $20-25 million, acquired via improper AFRINIC registrations. Despite claims of Seychelles-based operations, multilateration analysis shows infrastructure concentrated in Western data centers, mainly Equinix facilities in the US, UK, Netherlands, and Canada. Fibergrid uses a complex web of shell companies and multiple autonomous systems to evade detection and enforcement actions. The campaign leverages domain names linked to these fake shops, which target consumers through search engines and social media. Mitigation opportunities include upstream provider cooperation, regional internet registry intervention, domain-level takedowns, and indicator sharing with security vendors. This is a campaign-level threat involving hosting abuse and fraud rather than a software vulnerability.
Potential Impact
The impact involves widespread consumer fraud through fake e-commerce shops hosted on Fibergrid's bulletproof hosting infrastructure. Victims may be exposed to counterfeit goods and payment fraud schemes. The abuse of stolen IP address space and evasion tactics complicate enforcement and takedown efforts. While no direct software exploitation is involved, the scale of fraudulent activity poses significant financial and reputational risks to consumers and legitimate businesses.
Mitigation Recommendations
There is no software patch or direct fix for this hosting abuse campaign. Mitigation relies on coordinated actions including upstream provider intervention to disrupt hosting services, regional internet registry (AFRINIC) enforcement to reclaim stolen IP address space, domain-level takedowns of fraudulent sites, and sharing of indicators with security providers to enhance detection and blocking. Organizations should monitor and block known malicious domains associated with this campaign. Vendor advisories or official fixes are not applicable as this is a hosting and fraud campaign.
Technical Details
- Author
- AlienVault
- Tlp
- white
- References
- ["https://www.netcraft.com/blog/fibergrid-inside-the-bulletproof-host"]
- Adversary
- null
- Pulse Id
- 69ef8bc1ae6e9625756e05a8
- Threat Score
- null
Indicators of Compromise
Domain
| Value | Description | Copy |
|---|---|---|
domainair-upsuomi.fi | — | |
domainairupfranceshop.fr | — | |
domainairuppullosuomi.com | — | |
domainairupsweden.com | — | |
domainbratziezpuertorico.com | — | |
domainpinkpalmpuffnetherland.com | — | |
domaintimberlandsromania.cc | — | |
domainultimateearsindia.com | — | |
domainzapatilasbrookar.com | — |
Threat ID: 69ef8f0dba26a39fba41407d
Added to database: 4/27/2026, 4:30:05 PM
Last enriched: 4/27/2026, 4:45:26 PM
Last updated: 4/28/2026, 1:46:20 AM
Views: 36
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