Blizzard Entertainment

Summary

Blizzard Entertainment experienced distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeting its Call of Duty: Ghosts and Destiny online gaming servers, causing service disruptions and taking systems offline. The attacks were claimed by hacker group Lizard Squad, which had previously targeted other gaming platforms and reneged on an earlier cessation announcement. The incident highlighted vulnerabilities in gaming infrastructure to readily accessible DDoS-for-hire services, with attackers exploiting such methods to achieve immediate notoriety and operational impact.

Motives

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TTPs

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Description

On September 23, 2014, hacker group Lizard Squad conducted distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against online gaming services operated by Activision Blizzard, specifically targeting servers for the titles *Call of Duty: Ghosts* and *Destiny*. This incident occurred shortly after Lizard Squad’s August 2014 DDoS attack on Sony’s PlayStation Network and contradicted the group’s earlier public declaration that it would cease such activities. The attacks rendered the affected game servers temporarily inaccessible, disrupting online multiplayer functionality for users. Lizard Squad publicly claimed responsibility for the attacks through social media posts linked in contemporaneous reporting. The group’s motivations were not explicitly stated in available documentation, though the attacks aligned with their established pattern of targeting high-profile gaming infrastructure.

The operational impact centered on service availability, with no reported compromise of user data or internal systems. Cybersecurity firm Incapsula contextualized the incident within broader trends, noting increased DDoS attacks against gaming platforms due to readily available "DDoS-as-a-service" tools costing under $50 to execute mid-sized disruptions. Incapsula’s analysis identified multiple potential motives, including disgruntled players seeking retaliation against moderators, commercial rivals attempting to harm competitors in gaming-adjacent markets, and extortionists exploiting the financial consequences of downtime. The firm emphasized the disproportionate notoriety attackers could achieve through low-cost, high-visibility disruptions targeting popular online services. No specific mitigation actions by Activision Blizzard were detailed in source material, though Incapsula reiterated industry-wide recommendations for integrating DDoS defenses into operational planning given the escalating frequency of such attacks.

Sources

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