Sony Online Entertainment couldn't comment on today's incident regarding a bomb threat on company president John Smedley, but a spokesperson did confirm to us that the FBI "is handling" the situation. What that means exactly remains to be seen, but I assume the FBI has taken charge in an investigation into a series of tweets by hacker group Lizard Squad, the group seemingly behind the threats.
If you haven't been keeping up with today's crazy news, then let me explain. PlayStation Network has been down all day following a serious DDoS attack. Lizard Squad was originally the group to take credit for the attack, though later in the day a hacker who goes by the name @FamedGod stepped up as the person responsible.
All the while, SOE president John Smedley had been tweeting to fans, eventually letting the internet know he was flying today. Big mistake, as Lizard Squad took advantage of the information, tweeting to American Airlines that they'd been receiving reports that Smedley's plane had "explosives on-board."
.@AmericanAir We have been receiving reports that @j_smedley's plane #362 from DFW to SAN has explosives on-board, please look into this.
— Lizard Squad (@LizardSquad) August 24, 2014
As one would expect, American Airlines quickly diverted the plane and evacuated its passengers, Smedley included. Smedley originally seemed unaware of what had transpired while he was up in the air, but eventually provided an update via Twitter. He acknowledged his plane was indeed diverted, but would not discuss any further details. He only promised that "justice will find these guys." I'm assuming justice is FBI.
All is well
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) August 24, 2014
Yes. My plane was diverted. Not going to discuss more than that. Justice will find these guys.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) August 24, 2014
For updates regarding this story along with all of today's news about PSN's hacking, follow @Matt_GZ on Twitter.
