Slashdot Mirror
PhantomSquad Hackers Begin Their Xmas DDoS Attacks By Taking Down EA Servers (softpedia.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The hacking crew was not kidding about their Christmas DDoS attacks on Xbox & PSN. This morning the group started warmup attacks on the EA network, taking it down for 3 hours. The attacks were severe enough to take down the network completely, and EA issued apologies on its Twitter account. Phantom Squad is now carrying out DDoS attacks on PSN. Users started reporting outages in small areas around the world.
The DDOS attacks will continue until network infrastructure prevents it.
I think this group wants a name for themselves, and that may be the end of it, but who knows. The point isn't to ask why the rain falls- it's to wonder why we can't build a roof.
Whats the goal? Is to just be pricks?
What else are you going to do from mom's basement? Especially when the girl you've never actually talked to has gone to visit relatives and you turned off her phone?
They're just trying to inflate their sense of self-importance, and calling them hackers as this article does helps accomplish that. Just like terrorists, the only way to stop these assholes is to stop giving them the spotlight (unless it is to mock them). Either call them what they are -- script kiddies -- or just don't talk about them at all. Even if they manage to DDOS your favorite game server, in the bigger picture they've accomplished nothing at all. Get up, stretch your legs, find something else to do and ignore them. It's what they deserve.
In short, Yes.
Though I did hear a rumor that they were also doing it to demonstrate their attack system so they can sell/rent it to people.
There are many ways to demonstrate something like that, but of course, they chose to do it in a gratuitously mean fashion that will piss of lots of people.
Other than that, they're just trying to wave their dicks around. Pretty much a failure at impressing anyone, it's not like this is a new accomplishment or anything, they are just doing the same thing lots of people have done before them, so their just a bunch of wannabe griefers with little to no talent.
Depends on the site.
If you're running a local e-commerce site that sells only to a single state or county rather than the entire country, let alone to China, blocking China at the gate doesn't really seem that bad of a business move.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
And things should get ugly. People should be pissed at the game companies that require online for single player.