Some of you may already be aware that Sony’s PlayStation Network had a bit of a problem yesterday. That’s because of a DDOS attack – a direct denial of service attack for you non-nerds – that took the servers offline yesterday.
Fortunately this time around no data was taken, unlike the 2011 attack on the network that saw a bunch of personal information stolen, including credit card numbers, that took Sony 24 days to sort out. The service also appears to be back up and running.
Shortly after the attack a hacker group calling itself “Lizard Squad” claimed responsibility, even going so far as to say why they did it. They indicated they’re upset that Sony isn’t using the money earned from the PlayStation Plus subscriptions it’s charging for to protect the network from such attacks.
Sony, yet another large company, but they aren’t spending the waves of cash they obtain on their customers’ PSN service. End the greed.
— Lizard Squad (@LizardSquad) August 24, 2014
Playing multiplayer games on the PlayStation 3 was and is still entirely free, a point that set it apart from Microsoft’s Xbox Live service which required a Gold membership to do the same, but Sony has since moved to a pay-to-play model for the PlayStation 4 that requires gamers to subscribe to PlayStation Plus for R450 a year.
In the aftermath of the DDOS attack, Lizard Squad didn’t just take to Twitter to gloat about it, they also used it to send warnings to American Airlines that the plane carrying Sony Online Entertainment CEO John Smedley may have explosives on board, a tactic that forced the plane to divert and land early. Smedley himself confirmed the situation via Twitter.
Yes. My plane was diverted. Not going to discuss more than that. Justice will find these guys. — John Smedley (@j_smedley) August 24, 2014
Lizard Squad went on to issue a number of taunts to gamers, the FBI and Sony, some of which claimed affiliation with ISIS, a terrorist group that’s currently causing chaos in Iraq.
But did they really do it?
However, someone else may actually be responsible for the whole thing, and Lizard Squad is just looking for attention. Gamepur.com reported that another hacker with the Twitter handle @FamedGod was behind the DDOS attack, going on proof he posted via Twitter. Gamepur claims FamedGod is affiliated with the hacker collective “Anonymous”.
Why must someone take credit of ones work? LizardSquad couldnt hurt a fly. Decrypting a memory dump and finding the server was all my work. — Fame (@FamedGod) August 24, 2014
While FamedGod didn’t spout the same line about PlayStation Network money not being spent on security, he did indicate he thinks Sony should beef up their network security.
Hiding behind amazon servers doesnt help you Sony. Learn and hire people for security you cheap ass company.
— Fame (@FamedGod) August 24, 2014
@FamedGod went on to say his next target is Xbox Live.
The PlayStation Network is currently up, according to Sony’s status webpage, but it’s scheduled for maintenance later today. Xbox Live, on the other hand, is experiencing problems with its “Social and Gaming” services as of right now, but as yet FamedGod hasn’t claimed responsibility for it.
[Source – Worldsfactory.net, The Sydney Morning Herald, Gamepur, Image – PlayStation Network]
