"PlayStation network services were slowly being restored, Sony said early Saturday — more than two days after a suspected attack by hackers that also brought down Microsoft's Xbox Live," NBC News reported.
It took almost two days for Sony and Microsoft to recover from the latest cyber attack.
"Update: PS4, PS3, and Vita network services are gradually coming back online — thanks for your patience," PlayStation support tweeted early Saturday.
"We're aware that some of you are still having trouble; our teams are on the case!" Microsoft's Xbox Live service reported.
The companies have not yet clarified what exactly happened to their networks, since it is hard to "trace the source of attacks or confirm claims of responsibility," the Telegraph points out, citing cyber experts.
Lizard Squad, a group of hackers that took credit for the attack, claimed that they had brought down the gaming networks "for public good" in order to "raise awareness" about the cyber security issues.
Xbox Live #offline
— Lizard Squad (@LizardMafia) 25 декабря 2014
PSN #offline
— Lizard Squad (@LizardMafia) 25 декабря 2014
A 22-old-year hacker, who claimed he was a 'Member Two' of the group, pointed out that the attack had demonstrated the weakness of Sony's and Microsoft's security systems.
"It's just such a huge company Microsoft… Do you not think they should be able to prevent such an attack?" he said in an interview with BBC Radio Five Live.
"Is Christmas really about children playing with their new consoles, or playing with their new toys, or is it about them spending time with their families and celebrating Christmas? I think everyone's just taking it all out of the ordinary," the hacker said.
However, customers were enraged by the services' disruption.
Sony #Playstation is down on Christmas morning. Hacker attack for releasing #TheInterview? My kids are not happy.
— Josh Kerr (@joshkerr) 25 декабря 2014
You guys are stupid @Sony @PlayStation @Microsoft @Xbox how do you let a hacker get at you for this long? How strong is your security?!?!������������
— KNICKS 5-tanking (@iLeanuminati) 25 декабря 2014
Nephew: "I can't download my @Sony Playstation 4 games, network down on #Christmas due to those hacker people."
— Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) 25 декабря 2014
@Sony @PlayStation @AskPlayStation guys… Seriously? Xmas day and you cant stop a 2-bit hacker? Some truly disgruntled customers today…
— Tom Hoppe (@DeathByNerdgasm) 25 декабря 2014
The incident follows a high-profile breach of Sony Pictures' security network earlier this month. Although the attack on Sony PlayStation network was not as "serious and sophisticated" that the previous data theft, it has anyway dealt a severe blow to the company's reputation, the BBC underscores.
Meanwhile, it looks like the hacker group has prepared to bring down Tor service that enables online anonymity of internet users.
To clarify, we are no longer attacking PSN or Xbox. We are testing our new Tor 0day.
— Lizard Squad (@LizardMafia) 26 декабря 2014
However, Tor Project managers do not express any concerns regarding the cyber threat, the Verge notes.
"This looks like a regular attempt at a Sybil attack: the attackers have signed up many new relays in hopes of becoming a large fraction of the network. But even though they are running thousands of new relays, their relays currently make up less than 1 percent of the Tor network by capacity," Tor's spokesperson said, as quoted by the media outlet.
"We are working now to remove these relays from the network before they become a threat, and we don't expect any anonymity or performance effects based on what we've seen so far," he added.
