As if to coincide with the release of new controverial film "The Interview", Sony's PlayStation was brought to its knees as enthusiastic gamers opened their consoles on Christmas morning. While there are indications that the gaming platform is gradually being restored, there is no telling what hackers could do next in retaliation after Sony decided to release the comedy movie that plays out the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
The hacking of the PlayStation was apparently carried out by Lizard Squad. The group of hackers claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day cyber attack that left gamers frustrated. Not to mention that they also attacked Sony's competitor, Microsoft's Xbox. The downing of these two gaming platforms meant gamers could not compete with each other around the globe, in addition to being unable to play games they had downloaded.
According to officials at Microsoft, Xbox should be up and running now. All the same, there are still reports that some gamers are struggling to access the platform. Sony's cyber attack affected gamers longer with a statement released Saturday morning indicating a slow resumption of PlayStation. "Update: PS4, PS3, and Vita network services are gradually coming back online - thanks for your patience," read the official tweet.
PlayStation and Xbox Live users expressed anger and disappointment towards Lizard Squad which had attacked the gaming platforms earlier this month. Other gamers demanded their money back from Microsoft and Sony.
Both Sony and Microsoft have yet to comment as to what disrupted their gaming networks. Experts say it is extremely difficult to trace the origin of the attack to substantiate the claims by groups like Lizard Squad. Corporate data was seemingly unaffected by the latest attack and both companies have confirmed that there has not been a breach of customer data, though it is clear the Lizard Squad can cause significant damage and disruption.
Arbor Networks' director of security Dan Holden says Lizard Squad group is well-practiced and seem to have the capability of causing serious damage to corporations. Arbor Networks is a company based in Burlington, Massachusetts that provides cyber defense to corporations like Sony and Microsoft
The financial implications of these cyber attacks are obvious. "It's certainly costing money all the way around against these attacks," Holden says.
Holden had described Lizard Squad as a group of 'Hacktivists', but the group contacted him and said they would rather be referred to as 'cyber terrorists'. It is not yet clear who are behind the group or what the group intends to achieve with these attacks. Some reports have claimed the group is Russian. Whatever the truth might be, Sony and Microsoft must now devise plans to prevent similar attacks to their systems to avoid further losses.
