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BLAM, BLAM, BLAM... nooooo! Hacker crew Lizard Squad spits DDoS venom at Call of Duty

JUST before you blasted 2 'copters with 1 rocket launcher

Hackers from the group Lizard Squad have reneged on their promise to quit earlier this month, apparently launching distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on major gaming industry websites.

After an attack on the Playstation Network in August, Lizard Squad has added two uber-popular shoot-'em-up games from Activision Blizzard to its list of victims. Servers running Call Of Duty: Ghosts and Destiny were taken offline as a result of the blitz. Lizard Squad quickly claimed responsibility for the attacks (here and here).

Cloud-based DDoS mitigation and web security firm Incapsula said it has never been easier for miscreants to launch attacks on gaming sites, adding that this means gaming sites need to build DDoS attack defences into their operational plan.

“We see more and more gaming sites being hit by DDoS attacks and the reasons run the gamut," said Igal Zeifman, product evangelist at Incapsula. "[You could be dealing with] angry gamers looking for revenge on the mods who kicked them out of a community; rivals in the gaming ecosystem – how-to sites or virtual good exchanges — [who are] are looking to take down a competitor for a larger share of the affiliate fees market; [or] outright extortionists who know the cost of downtime."

He added: "This trend is likely to continue for two main reasons: First, anyone can access 'DDoS-as-service' solutions today and generate mid-sized attacks for a less than $50. Second, the coverage of attacks is instantaneous and widespread. When all you need to be armed with is a PayPal account, instant internet notoriety has never been easier." ®

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