Users of Sony’s PlayStation (PS) Network, the online service that connects PS3 and PS4 videogame consoles to the Internet and to over-the-top video services including Netflix, are not able to access the network following a dedicated denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.
Confirming the outage, Sony noted that there had been ‘an attempt to overwhelm our network with artificially high traffic’, with ‘no personal information’ leaked during the hack.
Claiming responsibility of the attack, a group dubbed ‘Lizard Squad’ tweeted that it had directed the online attack on Sony’s systems due to the US bombing of Islamic extremists in Iraq.
Further, the group had allegedly specified that the action against Sony’s servers would not be ceased until the US stops attacks on ISIS or ISIL.
The group also warned that the explosives may be on aircraft of Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley, upon which the plane was aborted and inspected for explosives on-board.
Launched in February 2013 to take on Microsoft’s Xbox One gaming console, the PlayStation 4 gaming console is claimed to be $100 or £100 less priced compared to Xbox One.