The Hacker News — Cyber Security, Hacking, Technology News

Remember the notorious hacker group Lizard Squad that spoiled last Christmas holidays of many game lovers by knocking the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live offline with apparent Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks?

But, Will you be able to Play Xbox and PlayStation Game this Christmas?

Probably Not.

Because a new hacking group is threatening to carry out similar attacks by taking down the Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network for a week during Christmas.

In a series of tweets, a bunch of DDoS hackers calling themselves "Phantom Group" (@PhantomSquad) announced that they will disrupt the XBox Live and PlayStation networks in a coordinated DoS attack.

The attacks could prevent millions of gamers worldwide from enjoying their newly opened Christmas gifts and accessing games online.

Also Read: PlayStation 4 Jailbreak Confirms.

Here are the tweets by Phantom Squad:

We are going to shut down Xbox live and PSN this year on Christmas. And we are going to keep them down for one-week straight #DramaAlert 

Ok, think about this.... Xbox Live and PSN have millions upon millions of dollars... but do they use that money for better security? 

No. PSN and Xbox do not use that money to improve their security... So until they open their eyes, Xbox Live and PSN will remain vulnerable.

A few days ago, Phantom Squad claimed responsibility for knocking Reddit offline, and Reddit confirms that the issue, saying its databases coming "under extreme load" that could have been caused by a DDoS attack.

"Reddit #Offline Goodnight." — Phantom Squad tweeted on December 15, 2015.

Now, the group has turned its crosshairs toward the gaming networks.

However, neither Microsoft nor Sony responsible for managing PlayStation and XBox Live online networks respectively has confirmed the DDoS attacks, but Microsoft, at least, acknowledged issues with Xbox LIVE when Phantom Squad claimed responsibility.

"Xbox Live #Offline" — Phantom Squad tweeted on December 12, 2015.

As a proof, Phantom Squad also posted a video of its cyber attacks.

If the DDoS attack on PSN and XBox is carried out successfully for a week during Christmas, it will again ruin the Christmas holidays for millions of video game lovers worldwide, just like last year.

Since DDoS attacks are so easy to conduct nowadays when there are so many DDoS tools available online, the important point here is whether Microsoft and Sony have upgraded their DDoS defences enough to defend against the attacks.

So, What do you think about the declarations of war upon PSN and Xbox LIVE? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

The Fourth and final member of an international hacking group called "Xbox Underground" (XU) has pled guilty to steal more than $100 Million in intellectual property and data from Microsoft, Epic Games, and Valve Corporation.

In addition, the group also stole an Apache helicopter simulator developed by Zombie Studios (''Zombie") for the U.S. Army and gained access to the U.S. Army's computer network.

Austin Alcala, a 19-year-old of McCordsville, Indiana, along with two other Americans and a Canadian, has found guilty to charges of computer hacking conspiracies and criminal copyright infringement involving theft of information related to then-unreleased Xbox One gaming console and Xbox Live games.

All the other members of the hacking group have been pleaded guilty before. Two members, Sanadodeh Nesheiwat, 28, and David Pokora, 22, pleaded guilty last September, while a third member, Nathan Leroux, 20, pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy charge in January.

Now, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced that all four members of the hacking group have pleaded guilty to their crimes.

The XU hacking group worked between January 2011 and March 2014. The various hacking techniques used by the group include SQL injection attacks to gain unauthorized access to targeted computers and keyloggers to steal confidential data, like credentials and credit cards.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the group was also able to steal pre-release versions of the popular video games including the "FIFA" online soccer series, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" and "Gears of War 3."

In the court Wednesday, the youngest of all group members, Alcala admitted that he was personally involved in hacking into and stealing log-in credentials and intellectual property from companies such as Microsoft and Zombie Studios.

The value of the confidential data stolen by the XU Group and the cost to the victims’ companies to recover it after the intrusions is estimated to range between $100 Million and $200 Million.

However, prosecutors were able to recover some $620,000 in cash and other proceeds that hackers had earned related to their thefts.