Cyber Incident Victim: Valve Corporation
Date:
Aug 2015
Location:
United States of America
Summary
A major gaming company's high-profile esports tournament featuring an $18 million prize pool was disrupted by a distributed denial-of-service attack targeting game servers, forcing event organizers to pause the competition. The incident highlighted vulnerabilities in the online infrastructure supporting the event, which relied on internet connectivity rather than isolated local networks, causing operational delays before service was restored later the same day.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On August 4, 2015, Valve Corporation’s annual Dota 2 tournament, The International, experienced a significant disruption when a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack targeted the game’s servers during the event. The attack forced organizers to pause the tournament, which featured professional players competing for an $18 million prize pool funded by Valve and player contributions. Unlike previous tournaments that operated on local area networks (LAN), this iteration required an internet connection to Valve’s servers, exposing it to online vulnerabilities. Valve’s on-stage commentators explicitly confirmed to the live audience of thousands that the disruption stemmed from the DDoS attack, halting competitive play indefinitely. The incident occurred during one of esports’ highest-profile events, drawing attention to infrastructure risks in large-scale online competitions.
The technical failure reignited discussions about tournament design, particularly Valve’s reliance on standard servers instead of a self-contained offline version immune to external attacks. While creating a specialized tournament build would involve development complexity, the article noted it could prevent such disruptions at events with multimillion-dollar stakes. The tournament resumed operations at 4:20 PM EST on the same day after Valve addressed the attack, allowing competition to continue. No additional details regarding attack mitigation, perpetrator identification, or long-term technical adjustments were disclosed in the available sources. The incident underscored operational challenges in hosting internet-dependent esports events despite their financial scale and professional stature.