Gaming Hackers Accept Christmas Bribe – PlayStation Network Hopefully Back Online Soon

Forbes is reporting How Kim Dotcom Saved Christmas from the Lizard Squad. I’d like my kids to get to play with their new games, but I’m not sure this is the right way for it to happen.

Did your family receive a new game system for Christmas only to spend the most of the last two days watching the spinning dial not connecting to PlayStation Network (PSN) or Xbox Live? Yeah, mine too.

I honestly can’t believe I’m writing this, as it sounds like the plot to a cheesy science fiction/”teenage unknown actor brat pack inspired” 80’s movie, but this is our reality, folks.

Since Christmas Eve, a group that goes by the name ?Lizard Squad? has been using a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on the PSN and Xbox Live gaming networks. Consequently, all the kids and adults alike that that opened that coveted new game this Christmas have yet to click the buttons or move the joysticks.

Then, Kim Dotcom, an Internet entrepreneur, obvious gamer, and founder of file hosting service Mega, stepped in and offered up a deal. He, like my son, also received the game Destiny and was growing impatient wanting to play.

The group accepted the offer and said they would call off the grinch-like attack.

https://twitter.com/LizardMafia/status/548329364417708033

Kim Dotcom is pleased with the outcome as he tweeted the following:

Yet, I’m not sure how I feel about providing a menacing group a bribe. While I appreciate the fact that there is hope that my children will get to play with their Christmas present at some point ? I’m not so thrilled with the idea that these types of actions receive reward.

Meanwhile, Lizard Squad states under another Twitter account that they are still attacking PSN and don’t show any signs of stopping.?Even after the deal made between Kim Dotcom and Lizard Squad, the group continues to attack PSN. USA Today reported services are still spotty, which I can vouch for as my kids have yet to play Little Big Planet 3.

https://twitter.com/FUCKCRUCIFIX/status/548569408197906433

What are your thoughts? Has your family been impacted by this Christmas trolling?

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Elizabeth Preston is a senior writer and an editor for Liberal America. She is a thirty-something wife and mother of three living in Florida. She is a fierce liberal with a passion?for equality and justice. As?a skeptic by nature she is?often the Facebook friend that rains on the urban legend parade with fact checking. Follow her on?Facebook,?Twitter,?and check out her personal blog,?My Four Ha? Pennies.

 

I had a successful career actively working with at-risk youth, people struggling with poverty and unemployment, and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. In 2011, I made the decision to pursue my dreams and become a full-time writer. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.