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Playstation online services gradually returning following apparent cyber attack

Sony says the online services for its PlayStation consoles are gradually returning after claims o...
Newstalk
Newstalk

10.21 27 Dec 2014


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Playstation online services gr...

Playstation online services gradually returning following apparent cyber attack

Newstalk
Newstalk

10.21 27 Dec 2014


Share this article


Sony says the online services for its PlayStation consoles are gradually returning after claims of a Christmas Day cyber attack.

The company was affected by the apparent attack alongside Microsoft's Xbox - ruining Christmas for many gamers.

The downing of PlayStation Network and Xbox Live services meant downloaded games could not be played - and gamers could not compete against others around the world.

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Xbox said on Friday that its online services were now "up and running", although some users are still reporting problems.

Sony took longer to resolve the issue but on Saturday morning the company tweeted: 

The attack was claimed by a group calling themselves Lizard Squad.

The group flooded Xbox and PlayStation servers with sustained Denial of Service requests.

The Daily Dot interviewed two apparent members of the group. One going by the alias of 'Ryan Cleary' told the website "if I was working [at Microsoft or Sony] and had a big enough budget, I could totally stop these attacks.

"I’d buy more bandwidth, some specific equipment, and configure it correctly. It’s just about programming skill. With an attack of this scale, it could go up to the millions. But that’s really no problem for Sony and Microsoft," he added.

Frustrated users took to Twitter to vent their disappointment and anger at Lizard Squad, which also claimed responsibility for attacks on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live earlier this month.

"Is Microsoft going to reimburse us for the live time that we're missing out on that most of us paid for .. #xboxlivedown #Microsoft," wrote one user.

The attack came a week after a hack on Sony over its film The Interview - the fallout of which included an intervention from Barack Obama.

Another Twitter user wrote: "@BarackObama comes out all guns blazing re stupid film, but FBI sit on back side as kids Christmas ruined by PSN, Xbox attack #Playstation."

Neither Sony nor Microsoft have confirmed the attack.

Lizard Squad had issued a threat at the start of December and describes itself as the "Grinch of Christmas".

Originally posted at 10.18am


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