PlayStation and Xbox Down on Christmas; Networks Attacked?

It has been reported that the gaming networks of Sony and Microsoft have been attacked by hackers this Christmas holiday.

According to Krebs on Security, the attack was allegedly perpetrated by a group called Lizard Squad. It noted that the attacks by these "misguided individuals" started around Christmas Day.

But why did they do it? Krebs on Security said the group attacked Sony and Microsoft just to "annoy and disappoint people who received new Xbox and Playstation consoles as holiday gifts."

BBC News reported on Saturday that Xbox has already been "up and running" while Playstation is still looking into the problem. To note, Microsoft's Xbox has 48 million subscribers while Playstation has more at around 110 million subscribers.

Playstation made the announcement through a Twitter post dated December 25 which said, "We're aware that some users are having issues logging into PSN - engineers are investigating."

As of December 26, 2:10 p.m., Sony is still trying to restore their services. In a tweet, it said, "Update: We are working to restore full network services for all platforms - thanks, as always, for your patience!"

Sony has already been targeted by the same hacking group in the past. USA Today said that the group has claimed to be the one responsible for the attacks on the PlayStation Network and on online games "World of Warcraft" and "League of Legends" last August.

Aside from this, Sony Pictures was also threatened by a hacker group called Guardians of Peace. USA Today said the group warned Sony of a 9/11 type attack on theaters if it pushes the new movie "The Interview" in cinemas. The movie tells the story of two guys -- David Skylark (James Franco) and Aaron Rappaport (Seth Rogen) -- who plot the assassination of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un. The movie was first cancelled but it pushed through and is being shown in select theaters and online.

BBC News tried talking to a video games analyst named Guy Cocker who claimed that the attack was a DDOS or distributed denial of service attack.

"Such assaults, known as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks - harness the Internet connectivity of many hacked or misconfigured systems so that those systems are forced to simultaneously flood a target network with junk internet traffic. The goal, of course, is to prevent legitimate visitors from being able to load the site or or use the service under attack," Krebs on Security explained.

Lizard Squad on Twitter announced that they have already stopped attacking Playstation and Xbox. "Confirming again that we are no longer attacking PSN or XBL, nor are any members. We will not be attacking them in the future. Thank MEGA," the group's tweet dated December 26 read.

This was followed by another tweet that said, "These corporations make billions off your existence and still don't even pay their tax. And you're still defending them? Open your eyes."

Deadline meanwhile reported that gamers can now again enjoy as Sony's PlayStation Network has already been up and operating, three days after the attacks.