Xbox Live hackers could knock the network 'off the face of the Earth'

Hackers behind attacks on Microsoft's Xbox Live network talk to 'Newsweek' about their motivations.

Global outages to Xbox Live, Microsoft’s online gaming network for its Xbox console, have been caused by hackers who claim to be able to knock it “off the face of the earth.”

The group responsible, known as New World Hackers, has previously carried out attacks on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as well as websites associated with the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). New World Hackers says the latest campaign is a form of protest against major corporations not having adequate security protection.

[RAM0N]

What do they gain for doing this?

[LostDjinn]

Attention. Do you think they're getting it?

[DragonDDark]

Of course :(

[Bdub2000]

So, they are trying to motivate Microsoft to update security by hacking them? How noble of them. This hacking group is the problem, not the solution. Idiots...

"Yeah, I steal people's cars to prove how easily defeated alarms are, just so that car manufacturers will put in better security."

- People that justify their horrible integrity and personality defects

[donthate]

Yeah, they are, and they are also getting attention from the FBI. Probably one year from now when they get caught, they will definitely be even more famous.

[sprinterboy]

Exactly, best way to beat ddos attacks in social media black out, give them no attention

[freshslicepizza]

then let's see they try and knock xbox live off the earth. they can't. all they can do is disrupt the service.

[darthv72]

"The group responsible, known as New World Hackers, has previously carried out attacks on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as well as websites associated with the Islamic State militant group (ISIS)."

Forget about them attacking Trump and XBL. I say they should continue to go after ISIS. That is a network that needs to be knocked off the face of the earth.

[whothedog]

So what you guys want them to do is ask MS and Sony to improve their security? I think this is their way of showing how easy it is to take down their network.

Yes I do think it sucks really bad but I would also like a more secure and reliable online experience. Maybe that is impossible though, I don't know enough to argue about that.

[Bzone24]

Yep getting attention. I thought articles giving attention to hackers wasn't allowed on N4G?

[rainslacker]

Dunno. Was any information stolen? DDoS protection is rather insignificant compared to information protection, so I fail to see how they are fighting any good fights here.

Why not actually let MS know where their security is faulty, and then take it down if they don't remedy it? That's how the PSN hack went down.

Then of course they go and say this

"The group says it is also carrying out the attacks as a demonstration of its power"

So, that's probably the more likely scenario. They want to be the ones with power, and power doesn't like to share.

[dcbronco]

What their motives are can't be determined until we see what they do next. Security is the most important thing for society as we become more dependent on electronic devices. If they push Microsoft and others to put more effort into security it's a good thing. Microsoft makes 5-8 billion in profit each quarter, they have the money to pay for security advancements.

At the same time Microsoft has apparently made huge strides on security given Windows phone is considered the most secure phone OS and Windows 10 was just adopted by the Department of Defense. DoD approval usually means it's more secure. So in that respect the timing is questionable. Microsoft dealt with security on mobile and now desktop, maybe give them a little more time on servers. Which shouldn't take long considering it is basically the same underlying software.

[BlackTar187]

Saying i don't think CC info was leaked is offensive?

[rainslacker]

@donthate

Saw your comment before it got flagged, and not sure what was offensive about it.

But, I think your right, I was thinking of something else when making my comment about why PSN was hacked. And no, I don't think any charges have been filed on anyone.

@dc

I agree. At the same time though, is anyone really asking these people to fight for us? The noble warrior fighting for right is cool and all, but all this is is cyber vigilantism directed at people who haven't committed any crimes. If they know something we don't, then maybe they should cite what the problems are so they can be corrected, instead of taking it upon themselves to solve the issue in the wrong way.

I think MS security is probably pretty good. They have an army of IT security specialist, but there is always a way if someone is motivated enough. DDoS'ing them isn't going to make things more secure, because they're going to be dealing with that instead of actual security holes that may exist somewhere.

@Blacktar

Didn't get to read your comment, but if that's all you said, not that's not offensive.

[rainslacker]

@dead

What problems exist now that MS has to fix that this group knows about and MS/We don't?

Security holes exist in every network. This group is making some valiant claim they are doing it for the good of all, yet go on to claim they will remove it off the face of the earth like that would be a good thing. Whatever security holes exist, I can guarantee the disruption of the network being removed from the face of the earth would be much more problematic in many ways over an unknown possible security risk. The more I read the headline, the more it seems like they have the same mentality, and worse planning than Dr. Evil from Austin Powers.

Think of it this way. For all these kinds of attacks, and all the people who go on to claim it's for the betterment of all, how many actually do anything other than DDoS which is followed by bold claims of being able to do more? That more never comes, and all that's achieved is inconveniencing the people they're supposedly fighting for. These people are trying to be like Anonymous and affect social change against improprieties, yet they lack structure, and lack ability to realize what is a good fight, and what is just some ego fueled narcissism.

[dcbronco]

Actually after thinking about it a while I give Microsoft a pass really. They have tried to address security issues. Remember at one point they were going to take over security for Windows completely. But there was a public outcry. Some because it's Microsoft we're talking about and they have to be against them. Others because they didn't think Microsoft was capable of handling it. And still others because it would kill their businesses. Symantec and McAfee and others fought Microsoft on this. I believe they threatened to sue them over it. So given that and improvements they have made they should be given a pass.

The other reason companies should get a pass is the majority of the best hackers make too much money hacking to work for someone like Microsoft. Banks lose millions a pop to hackers but rarely talk about because if people knew how often they get hit electronically and for how much no one would trust them. It's hard to win when the other team has far more talent.

I do think software makers need to get more creative in their defense methods and people need to be more willing to push a few extra buttons or go through a couple of procedures for their safety.

[Pogmathoin]

Headline should be 'Pond slime could knock the network of the face of the earth, then going back to knock themselves on on porn'

Sad bastids..... these people think they are somebody relevant....

[-Foxtrot]

Big talk yet no action...it's easy to say you can do it but doing it is what really counts

Not like I want it to happen, obviously. I just see a lot of hackers saying the same thing.

If hackers intentions were so pure and they all banded together they could change the world if they wanted...I mean over the years we've had certain people poke their heads into NASA, the FBI, CIA and the like but if all of them did it and planned it out so many secrets and conspiracies which could be true could finally come to light, things which could rock the world as we know it. Hell the UFO phenomenon on it's own.

Back in 2002 a single guy known as Gary McKinnon hacked into NASA and found some files regarding UFO's and the like...now whether this is true is anyones guess but if it was and all these hackers united, found documents like this and leaked them then I think we could end up living in a new age. It would certainty stop the focus on the middle east, oil and the like and make us question our own governments and the crap we are constantly fed to keep us in line.

But like I said that's only if they did the unthinkable and use their hacking skills for good.

[Ashlen]

Well, DDoS isn't hacking, it's just tricking dumb people into installing malware.

And the sad truth is, it's probably not possible for matter to travel faster than light and that UFO's and extraterrestrial life probably hasn't visited this planet.

But I encourage you to keep the dream alive.

[-Foxtrot]

"And the sad truth is, it's probably not possible for matter to travel faster than light and that UFO's and extraterrestrial life probably hasn't visited this planet"

You're joking right. It's closed minded to think we haven't.

The human race used to laugh at the thought of flight at one time, other planets and science in general. We used to think the Earth was at the centre of everything. So many different things we deemed as impossible only for us decades later to actually learn we were wrong.

Look at what we are capable of, just recently someone came up with an idea for a propulsion system to get us to Mars in 3 days, will it work? Who knows but are you really saying that another lifeform in our own galaxy or in a one much further away, a race much older then us couldn't have figured that out, even back to when we were still trying to understand fire and the wheel.

Honestly I just think there's been too many sightings and the like to say we haven't been visited in the past. Even if you combine that with some of the core things we have in the Ancient Alien theory (not the recent, more stretched out stuff) about our ancient past or even the things which happened, for example, behind closed doors during Roswell or even WW2 since Hitler was apparently obsessed with UFOs and new technology. So many stories and theories that if only 1% of that is true then it still proves it...that we are not alone.

Not saying I'm a nut case and believe in the ancient lizard people from the consultation of Major dipping sauce, I draw the line at a number of things but I always keep an open mind. There are some stories and the like you can't brush off so easy.

The Truth is Out There.

[Gwiz]

Well,it's hacking.You create a combined data output to act differently as it was intended.None of the machines rigged would do so otherwise unless you created this scenaro to begin with.
DDOS is a very convenient and effective way of changing functionality,especially not being able to make a distinction in normal and flood data makes this a hack in every sense of the word.

[ArmrdChaos]

Hacking: To gain access to (a computer file or network) illegally or without authorization.

NO....DDOS is not hacking. Don't give them any more credit than they deserve.

If you successfully cut all the power lines that lead to a power station do you claim that you successfully hacked into said station security? Uh NO. Does it cause a disruption...yes.

[Ashlen]

Well most installers for DDoS software don't actually change anything they work within the limits of the OS that's why a person has to agree to install them.

These guys don't physically hack a computer and install software. They lodge their software in the installer for some program and then someone has to install that program then someone with a master-control program pretty much just inputs an IP and clicks run to initiate a DDoS.

Hacking to my definition is actually bypassing security by force in real-time.

[rainslacker]

It's not hacking. It's an attack. In the IT world they are two distinct things. An attack can lead to a hack, but DDoS is not a hack in and of itself. Getting the programs onto other computers is just tricking people into installing software. That could lead to a hack against these people when the hackers initiate the program on the clients as it's doing something without the users knowledge or permission, but the servers being attacked are not hacked themselves. Getting the program onto computers to perform the attack is more an exploit than a hack though. Nothing is really bypassed on the client side.

DDoS is often used to mask an attack however, and during times of a DDoS attack, that is the bigger concern over getting the servers up and running again, because if a hack is happening, actual information can be lost.

The being said, the internet is pretty resilient. being able to take it all down would be near impossible outside some major act of god, because it was designed to be redundant, and the resources of the net outweigh the resources of the hackers.

[Gwiz]

The definition of hacking is not one set of rules.

Let that line sink in for a moment.

"If you successfully cut all the power lines that lead to a power station do you claim that you successfully hacked into said station security? Uh NO. Does it cause a disruption...yes."

You didn't use the power grid against itself.. This analogy is totally wrong.

[rainslacker]

@GWiz

The definition of hacking actually is set in stone. Every IT security class will clearly state the difference between what is an attack, and what is a hack.

General discussion usually throws them all into one group, however, that isn't actually the terms being used the way they were meant to be used, and it's like that because most people don't know the difference. It doesn't help when things like this come up, these DDoS script kiddies are referred to as hackers by the media and by themselves.

In this case, a proper analogy would be that the group used an exploit of the internet to perform an attack which disrupted services. The internet, and ultimately the servers performed the way they were supposed to. A hack would have been if they were able to gain access to the server, or any server leading to it, and change internally what should have happened when an request was made...like say redirect that request to another server, or return the information gained to a location it was not meant to go, or abandon the packet all together within the server itself.

[Ashlen]

It would be nearly impossible to keep it a secret. You would literally have to get every major world leader to agree. And after all these years one of them certainly would have let it slip.

If you think otherwise you may as well think the entire world political and media system is completely being run by an extraterrestrial organization that has complete control over our planet.

Strange but true with all the cameras on cell phones the number of reported sightings has actually gone down.

I'd love LOVE to see humanity breech the speed of light but light and matter are essentially the same thing you can't go faster than what you are. I can't explain it well enough on a text forum, but I encourage you to watch some of the series with Neil Tyson DeGrasse on Netflix.

Closed minded or rational?

[-Foxtrot]

To keep what a secret? That we've been visited. It wouldn't be that hard when they wouldn't want their own people knowing about it. What do they gain? Only a way to reverse engineer whatever crashes in their country and keep it for their military.

It's not that far fetched when no leader would want mass panic. Especially when you have religion on the cards. Imagine die hard religious people finding out we are not alone and that god did not create the Earth and only the Earth. It would put a huge hole in it and with how many wars and attacks are fueled by religion it's not a situation world leaders would want to escalate.

"If you think otherwise you may as well think the entire world political and media system is completely being run by an extraterrestrial organization that has complete control over our planet"

Not extraterrestrial but who knows how much goes on behind closed doors. What if everything is run behind closed doors. We don't know. Majestic 12, New World Order, something else. You can't say for sure, our governments are not the most trustworthy of people, especially in recent years

"Strange but true with all the cameras on cell phones the number of reported sightings has actually gone down"

There is still sightings and the like but if you were watching another planet and knew how far their tech had gotten with our use for camera phones I think you would be a little bit more careful.

It's like the opening scene in Star Trek Into Darkness when they are on that primitive planet and are told not to engage since the planet was not ready.

"I'd love LOVE to see humanity breech the speed of light but light and matter are essentially the same thing you can't go faster than what you are"

At the minute. Einstein theorised Gravitational waves 100 years ago...and in the past few weeks what did we find...Gravitational waves.

Even brilliant people like Neil Tyson DeGrasse can't predict things, only theorise until they are proven right or wrong. But even things which are deemed impossible are found to be possible decades on.

So yes...closed minded

We'll find a way. Humanity will keep thinking forward until we find a way.

The amount of things over a 100 years ago which were deemed as impossible and thought of as science fiction...yet here we are.

[Destiny1080]

im not sure about aliens, they travel 50 million light years and when they get to earth they suddenly have engine failure and crash, I think they would do it like star trek, they would have a large ship orbiting the planet and send down orbs too investigate, I think if an alien ship was to crash it would be massive

one day a ship might just roll up and will be a world changing event

[ColonelHugh]

@Destiny

While I admittedly don't believe we've ever been "visited," or even that aliens with such intelligence exist, you could still explain a crash as seen in 'The Thing' or hinted at in 'Who Goes There?'

The extraterrestrial with the flying object may have known about Earth and not visited until after being attacked and copied by a parasitic organism bent on reproducing through our particularly populous planet, but is unable to land or fly correctly.
There are other bizarre ideas as well. Every kind of transportation in human history has crashed in some way for countless reasons.

[dmeador]

@ Foxtrot

"At the minute. Einstein theorised Gravitational waves 100 years ago...and in the past few weeks what did we find...Gravitational waves. "

This is a horrible example for why faster than light travel could be possible. You know what Einstein also said? That nothing can go faster than the speed of light.

The argument that something might be possible because anything might be possible is pretty weak.

[Ashlen]

I'll leave you with this link.

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

I'd also like to add I said "probably", nothing in this universe can be certain to the limited mind of a human. (that doesn't mean I agree with you anymore than before though)

Edited to add:

Fox, people always talk about how humans are reverse engineering alien technology but I just want to say that really insults human intelligence.

A really common thing for people to think has been reverse engineered is computers but if you read the history of computers you'll see it has been a slow process started with the first circuit built by Texas Instruments that was just an evolution of old tube based systems.

Sorry to edit that part in, if you want to further argue, I completely open the door to that.

[Aenea]

But what this group is doing, is not hacking, it's a DDoS attack, any idiot with a computer and some money (to get access to a botnet) can do it...

They aren't helping anyone, except themselves, getting publicity...

[Ashlen]

Fox, I know this is incredibly hypocritical of me but I want to comment on more things you said.

One thing is. That world leaders aren't telling people to protect people from themselves because of religious beliefs.

Fox, people used to think the world was flat and religion absolutely thought the earth was the center of the universe and that the sun and all the known planets circled around the earth. But science proved that wasn't true and even though the religious leaders of the time tried to suppress the information going so far as to torture and kill scientists as heretics the truth could not be denied. The truth was revealed and humanity carried on.

There is no reason all world leaders would willingly hide this information and if the information was available there is no way it wouldn't have gotten out by now.

And you talk about Einstein and how he theorized about gravitational waves, he is also who theorized that mass can not exceed the speed of light.

We have created multiple mile long particle accelerators in part to speed particles to as close to the speed of light as we can just to smash them into other particles to see if the explosions will create something that moves faster than light. And unfortunately so far after years of smashing we have still not found anything that moves faster than light.

And even if we could move at the speed of light things in the universe are so far from us it would take tens of thousands of years to reach even the nearest solar body not to mention finding one with life. And on top of all that everything in the universe is constantly getting farther apart as the explosion that created the universe is still expanding.

Humans have to be willing to understand it's likely not possible to bridge that gap.

And as for secret organizations. I mean, there are so many visible organizations and governments why let them exist and have elections in one country while letting someone like Putin stay in power so long and letting countries like Iran or North Korea to exist if they have the power to control all the world leaders well enough to keep such a huge secret? Why not just consolidate it all? It would be that much easier to control.

I'd like to say the conversation is interesting and I love Sci-fi and Star Trek and watching educational programs about science and I have seen virtually every Histories Mysteries and Ancient Aliens and every other Discovery Channel crazy science/aliens show out there. I too love that stuff.

But the truth may simply be that the world exists as it does in it's ever changing way naturally and only by evolution and man's own making. And that aliens have had no influence and perhaps haven't even been here.

Thank you for the conversation. I encourage you to dispute anything I say.

[Aries83]

LHC! I wonder if it is still believed by some that this will cause the end of the world...

[Fez]

You must concede that is not widely accepted that we have been visited by extra terristrials, largely because sufficient evidence has not been provided. Our current understanding of physics also points to the fact that it would be incredibly difficult for intelligent life to reach us. Obviously our knowledge will almost certainly increase in the future but right now, to the best of our knowledge it is very very unlikely that it could be possible, never mind true.

You could use your reasoning to proclaim the existence of ghosts, yeti's, lock ness monsters and the rest but these are not widely held beliefs because the evidence is patchy, or contradictory or false.

You should look at crop circle hoaxes and the people who believed them and still do even after the hoax is revealed. People really want to believe it, but that doesn't make it true.

You should have an open mind when examining evidence, not when believing assertions.
The truth certianly is out there. It will be great when we get closer to it by reasoned evaluation of evidence.

[Fez]

@foxy
You should do some research and release a paper that proves your theory correct. If it is good enough it will be accepted and the current understanding will be that we have been visited.

Personally, I think it is currently quite silly to believe we have been visited, but conversely, it is almost a certainty that intelligent life is out there.

[-Foxtrot]

Being open minded is not silly.

My theory? Mate this a huge thing if you look it up there have been theories, papers, books etc but no one can say they are right.

Personally I believe the Universe is so old and so big that to say we haven't been visted, NOT ONCE since the Planet Earth has been around is highly closed minded and silly.

Is that what people do these days, can't accept something or begin to accept something so far out that we just call someone silly

God I'm glad this isn't the 1500s you'd probably burn me at the stake for being a witch

[ColonelHugh]

@Fox

Great. Now I can't help but think that the Salem witch trials was actually an elaborate alien extermination procedure.

[Nivekki]

It's at times like these that I realise how boring some of the people are who share my interest.

[Fez]

If this were the 1500s you'd be one of the people doing the burning since you seem to be believing the assertion even though by your own admission "no one can say they are right"... This is the language used by anyone who wants to believe anything without sufficient evidence. In my opinion, this is quite silly in that it stops people searching for actual truths by believing in falsehoods or unproven hypotheses.

As for your theory you could be right. There are theories that life on earth began from external living organisms arriving via asteroid and the like i.e. we are the aliens! It's pretty cool to think about, but none of these have progressed from theory to Theory so can't be taken as true until proven. Still cool to think about though.

Your assertion is interesting but believing it is currently silly - since there is not enough evidence. Still if you want to present evidence I'd be willing to listen to it purely out of interest.

[jb227]

Donald Trump, ISIS, Microsoft...gotta say their track record for at least 2 outta 3 ain't that bad...

[Gwiz]

Knock it off the face of the earth?what kind of technical nonsense is that?lol

[Aenea]

Yeah, as if a DDoS attack can suddenly melt the servers...

The only way they could possibly stop it for eternity, ehmm, is if they keep the DDoS attack up, soon as they stop it the servers will be back to normal, so no, this is nonsense and gives us the intelligence level of these so called hackers...

[n4rc]

They can't even knock the servers off the face of my Xbox.. Lol.. Still signed in

(Have had a couple issue this week but nothing comparable to a "global outage")

[MegaRay]

I seen a PSN server flying through the space last holiday or two. SO I wouldnt call this nonsense... XD

[Mkai28]

So they justify hacking Microsoft so Microsoft can come up with a better security? Ok, let me rob a bank and get away with it. Then make a statement to the local news saying, I robbed the bank so they could have better security.. What since does that make?

[badz149]

You can give it a try. You know...so you won't be "just talk, no action" kinda fella.

Seriously, people are talking about robbing a bank like it's a walk in the park. Try to do it and see if you can get away.

[Aenea]

True, robbing a bank is a heck of a lot harder to do and requires actual skill than starting a script on your computer what these script kiddies do...

[Vhampir]

Because he was obviously comparing the difficulty of running a script on a computer to actually robbing a bank. Rather than comparing the act of committing a crime and then trying to justify it with "I'm just trying to help <name of victim>".

Try to think a bit.

[BossBattle]

I haven't seen them attack yet. My service has been fine.

[MachuchalBrotha316]

That sucks! These guya are gonna bring down a grid one day like Die Hard. If it aint Hackers it will be a solar flare.

[jb227]

Die Hard plots don't get enough credit...apparently the entire gold heist from Vengeance was a legitimate scenario that was given to the FBI by one of their own security analysts, and it remained a hole for years after the film released.

Gotta say though, if these guys are aiming their efforts at huge corporations & terrorist groups, chances are whenever they do make a big play, it'll most likely benefit the common people, so at least we have that to look forward to? May not have a gaming service for a few months, but we may end up w/ a massive redistribution of wealth where we suddenly get our bank accounts full of all of the billionaire's money...I'd give up gaming for a while for that personally..

[rainslacker]

Maybe they should just make the big play and get it over with instead of inconveniencing the common man?

Lots of things could happen in today's digital age. If wealthy people are affected, then more likely they'll be remedied. Wealth is only as valuable as the institutions which hold money in place, and if those institutions lose that power, then wealth is meaningless, and IMO, despite what many people think, society would break down and likely collapse into anarchy without structure...even if that structure is prone to corruption.

[jb227]

@rainslacker

I see your point for sure, but there were once a lot of checks in place to keep that corruption from running rampant, and as wealth has been able to influence policy more & more often, those checks are disappearing.

One of the big catch 22's that kinda falls in line with what you are saying is tax hikes for the wealthy, where the issue becomes that if you raise taxes for the wealthy, they will relocate & you will lose their funds entirely. I don't know the answer to it really but it seems like the methods it takes to reach these higher levels in a capitalist society also tend to create or require a certain type of person that is willing to harm others in order to horde every resource they possibly can. The pharmaceutical industry is where I'd start for a huge reform, I believe that area is far & away the most corrupt and damaging to the largest amount of people. Fallen victim to multiple bad drugs myself & would've had even more issues had I taken some of the other drugs that were pushed upon me. There needs to be far more regulation in that area imo...Hack those guys to oblivion as far as I'm concerned...the world may end up a lot healthier if we didn't consume so many untested & harmful medications.

[rainslacker]

I can't say you're wrong, although I don't follow the stuff enough to be able to have a really informed discussion on the issue.

I wasn't really intending to get into a socio-political debate about the topic, just pointing out that money talks, and gets things done. If the wealthy are at risk of losing their wealth, something will be done. If the common man is at risk of losing everything(like in identity theft), the common man is the one that has to do all the work, and more often than not, the people who get the money and wealth from the common man just take. Been a victim of identity theft, and it's laughable how much BS the victim has to put up with all while the culprit is enjoying ill-gotten money, and the financial institutions do nothing but take every last thing away from you if you still try to do the right thing and take care of your obligations.

Anyhow, rant aside, the other part of my point was that society needs structure, and while it's cool and all to rage against the machine, the world would collapse into anarchy without some form of structure...corrupt or otherwise.

[ERFO]

Please Anonymous-Kenobi.... you're our only hope.

[sullynathan]

I'll believe it when I see it.

[AG6686]

Haha such a stupid article, no they couldn't. Nothing but a stupid set of losers who hate their lives so try make others unhappy. What's more stupid is its 2016 and we can't easily find these morons. And when they do they get let off. How about sentence them to years of making things like PSN and xbox more secure. Like that guy from catch me if you can, he made millions helping FBI. Wouldn't you rather do that instead of sitting in a basement masterbaiting to ip addresses

[Aenea]

That sentence would be silly, they can't help PSN and XBL with that, it would require skills which these types of hackers don't have...

[MJunior]

I don't believe, but...

"Pick up yo shit from space man"

[Cy]

No, you didn't disrupt service to "protest", you did it because you want attention and want to piss people off. That or you're angling for a job. Either way, you're immature idiots like any other "hacktivist" group.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Well said

[lastking95]

Gtfo these people have nothing better to do.

[TheVigilanteCode]

"HACKERS!!!1ONE"

LMAO, stupid script kids.

[Majister-Ludi]

That's a mighty dramatic heading considering there claim to fame is knocking off the BBC network for a couple hours. Such a weird way to experience joy, by trying to take others away.

[alfcrippinjr]

all that the hackers are trying to show proof that company's like Microsoft and Sony

charge us money every year to go online and play games

the money we pay is not going into security of the xbox live or psn networking

the money is going somewhere else and not networking security.

for sure the hackers should be using there skills to target anti piracy groups all over the world.

[rainslacker]

But what security holes are present? Do you know what they're spending the money on? These companies have large teams of security professionals who do nothing but plug security holes. Sometimes their security isn't proficient enough, and at times, people exploit that. But a company can spend every penny they have on security and there will still be a way to get in.

To think these companies sit on their money, and do nothing with it to keep their servers secure...particularly MS which has some really good security all around, is just people believing they understand how the system works.

If these hackers know of something that needs to be fixed, they can show it in other ways than trying to divert the attention of the security teams away from doing their job, and finding and fixing these holes themselves, or better yet, send an email to these companies and tell them what security holes exist. When I was in IT security, we would send emails to MS when we found holes in their OS, which compromised our own security, and it was usually taken care of in 2-3 days with a patch. MS thanked us for letting them know, and all was good. We didn't have to go out and make some bold statement, or resort to illegal methods to get their attention.

[neomahi]

There ya go. That $60/yr. subscription fee is really paying off isn't it! Fans did it to themselves and Microsoft. Sony so many years ago under fire and so much guff. Bottom line is, doesn't matter who you are, everyone can fall subject.

[TeamLeaptrade]

It's true that Xbox and other companies really do need to fix their security, but I don't agree with what these "Hackers" are doing. It's not helping anyone and is only getting on the nerves of people actually trying to enjoy their time with their video games. I understand wanting to see things get better, but DDoSSing some company isn't going to help much imo.

[mark_parch]

ffs can't these sad acts just leave gamers alone

[RosweeSon]

Show a demonstration of power.. This is exactly why some people shouldn't be privileged enough to be shown or taught any form of power they go Power Mad.

[Budrazor]

The next Xbox will play Xbox+PC games on it. That's gonna be a nice library of games.

[hangdang]

People who participate in a DDoS aren't hackers

[ziggurcat]

i'm not entirely sure how DDoS attacks are constituted as "hacking" nor do I see how flooding the server with a barrage of requests is any indication of the level of security. no network, no matter how strong it is, can really 100% defend itself from those kinds of attacks.

[Wallstreet37]

No network, no matter how strong is unhackable either contrary to what people believe on here. Live is just as vulnerable to DDOS or hacks as any online network. If the pentagon can be hacked and private banks lol bet your %ss anything can.

[Tsunade]

In the US, they usually get a job on a big company for doing this.

We can protest for this conduct but as long as the big companies keep giving them work for this, is going to keep happening a lot.

[rainslacker]

They won't get a job for doing DDoS. Any person who learns about IT security could easily perform one. About all you'll get for being caught instigating a DDoS attack is a hefty fine or jail time.

If you are able to perform an actual hack, and can show that you have great understanding of how to do them, and better yet prevent them, then yes, there are a few cases where people get jobs from it. However, more often than not, those that are caught just end up in jail or pay a hefty fine. We rarely hear about these cases beyond the initial attack/hack, but it's hard to find the good ones, because they know how to cover their tracks, and if they are caught it's usually because they take it too far and get over confident. The ones that get caught quickly probably aren't worth giving a job to.

There are some hackers which never get caught and go on to be productive members of society though....although their illegal actions are rarely known about in those cases.

[Ashunderfire86]

They claim the reason for hacking so Microsoft can use better security, yet they are not solving the problem. They are giving companies a mandate to make security even worst to the point of spying on people using these(consoles, Kinect, etc) devices and banning them at will! Why not use these same techniques to hack military bases to expose secrets to the public! You know like Wikileaks or Edward Snowden?

[Hayabusa 117]

You have a fair point but Sony didn't start spying on their customers and banning people when they got hacked. Granted, Microsoft isn't Sony but at least these hackers haven't released user's private information or anything like that. The Sony hack on other hand DID effect whether or not Sony implemented certain online features (not being able to migrate a PS4 Warframe account would be probable example). if Microsoft decides to start spying on people in fear of another hack, then that would be Microsoft doing the stupid thing, not New World Hackers.

But I still don't get why these hackers need to go public when you just could just go straight to the company, and if Microsoft refuse to listen, THEN they can go public. My 2 cents anyway.

[Christopher]

It's just people who want attention. DDoS attacks aren't a sign of poor security. Anyone can DDoS some IP ranges. The reason the businesses don't use DDoS prevention is because then it slows down data transfer and greatly increases how long it takes to reach a server. Not feasible for systems designed to ensure fast response times.

This is the equivalent of pouring tar on top of a road and then blaming the roads design for not dealing with the excess tar. That's not its purpose nor how it works.

If DDoS continue to happen, the only end result will be security measures implemented that will serve to only lessen the quality of service at all times in order to prevent taking down the service when someone who wants attention is bored.

You want to go after a company for really having better security? Actually penetrate real security flaws and upload information that tells people how it's insecure. Don't just say "Your security sucks, let me prove it by mailing you thousands of dildos." That doesn't prove anything and neither do DDoS attacks.

[Mrveryodd]

These dick heads should be locked up for a little while ..., at the very least if your skills are that good , bring down pedofiles and terrorists , I know if I had those skills I would be wasting them on pissing off gamers who are just having some fun.

[theFAYEsorceress]

what kind of world do we live in when GROWN UPS are doing this garbage? they should be fined an amount that can't be paid off in their life time along with prison time.

[Psychotica]

ooh, you can copy the know-how off of the internet and use it, how talented..

[2pacalypsenow]

Please dont

[ballisticvoodoo]

No better than terrorists. String them up.

[lennyvon]

I think these guys ultimately think that showing their talent will eventually get them amazing positions in government jobs because if eventually caught people in positions of power would want them working for them and their agendas. Just a thought lol

[killer876]

Ddos is not hacking

[Germany7]

They also attacked Donald Trump, the future POTUS, these guys are loser.

[47]

So do it. All these groups claim they can shut these services down forever, yet it never happens. They can't. They're just doing simple ddos attacks.