Microsoft Xbox Live and Sony PlayStation Networks sustained user connection problems for several hours on Christmas Day, and a hacker group took responsibility for that, says Reuters. The hacker group, which calls itself the “Lizard Squad,” was not available for comment, and both companies decided to reserve comments about the connectivity issues.
3 Microsoft Xbox models facing issues
Both Microsoft and Sony expected heavy use of the devices on the holiday, but those expectations were marred by the networks’ failures. Sony’s decision to allow users access to the controversial movie The Interview may have contributed a bit to the problem, says Reuters.
“Are you having a rough time signing in to Xbox Live?,” a service alert on the Microsoft product’s website asked. “We’re working to get this figured out right away. We appreciate your patience.”
The Xbox models which were affected by the issue were the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Xbox according to Microsoft’s status website. Even two hours after the message, Xbox Live said technicians were still busy finding a solution to the problem. According to the device status page, PlayStation Network was still offline at 7:30 p.m. ET.
“We are aware that some users are experiencing difficulty logging into the PSN,” it said.
Similar attacks earlier
Lizard Squad published on their Twitter account, “I have the nation on strings.” The update also read that it would rectify the problem if enough people retweeted its messages.
The network failure incident is similar to the one that occurred a couple of weeks ago when the same hacker group claimed responsibility for taking down PSN. Previously Lizard Squad has also claimed responsibility hitting another online gaming service. The group claimed that it DDOSed World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and other popular MMORPGs.
It is interesting to note that earlier on Thursday, Sean McCarthy, spokesman for Microsoft Xbox, did not share details about how the company equipped itself for the security breaches in the wake of the problem Sony has experienced in releasing The Interview.
The spokesman said the holiday season is the busiest time of the year for any consumer electronics company, which is why the company will work hard to make sure its infrastructure is stable, as many consoles are being activated for the first time.
