While we're still getting varying reports on the status of both PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE, Lizard Squad, the group claiming responsibility for today's DDoS attacks, has said the attacks stopped "around two hours ago."
Both PSN and Xbox LIVE were down for much of the day today. While neither company acknowledged a DDoS attack, the notorious hacker group Lizard Squad — the same group responsible for DDoS attacks over the past few months — claimed responsibility. In a somewhat odd turn of events, the group thanked Kim Dotcom for vouchers to MEGA Privacy, and then apparently called off the attacks.
I'm still trying to make sense of the entire situation, but here's a snippet of how it allegedly unfolded.
A Christmas Miracle. How @MegaPrivacy saved @Xbox & @PlayStation from the @LizardMafia attack. Enjoy your games! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/qoaZ33eqCi
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) December 26, 2014
Thanks @KimDotcom for the vouchers–you're the reason we stopped the attacks. @MegaPrivacy is an awesome service.
— Lizard Squad (@LizardMafia) December 26, 2014
Going dark, goodbye for now.
— Lizard Squad (@LizardMafia) December 26, 2014
Lizard Squad claims that the DDoS attacks were stopped around two hours ago and any downtime currently being experienced is "just the aftermath." It's unclear when service will be fully restored.
Meanwhile, an offshoot Twitter account of Lizard Squad claims the DDoS on PSN is still ongoing. The person responsible seems to be on some sort of kick to get retweets.
3,000RTS and we will stop hitting PSN servers
— Lizard Squad (@FUCKCRUCIFIX) December 26, 2014
So where are we at this point?
According to Microsoft's official status page, Xbox LIVE Core Services are still "limited," with Xbox One users still unable to sign into Xbox LIVE. Apparently the service is up and running on Xbox 360.
It has been a while since we've received a status update from Sony, but the status page simply lists PSN as "offline."
