Cyber Incident Victim: Electronic Arts Inc.
Date:
Dec 2013
Location:
United States of America
Summary
Multiple gaming platforms, including Origin, Steam, Battle.net, and League of Legends, experienced temporary server disruptions due to distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks linked to harassment against a prominent game streamer. A group called DERP Trolling claimed responsibility for targeting Origin and other services using a tool dubbed the "Gaben Laser Beam," while separate actors targeted Steam. The attacks were connected to a swatting incident involving the streamer, whose personal information was leaked online, leading to police intervention at his residence. DERP denied direct involvement in the personal harassment but operated a public channel for accepting DDoS target requests, amplifying the disruption across gaming services as part of the broader vendetta.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On January 3, 2014, multiple online gaming platforms—including Origin, Steam, Battle.net, and League of Legends—experienced temporary server outages due to apparent distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. The disruptions occurred overnight and were linked to a harassment campaign targeting YouTube streamer PhantomL0rd, whose personal information had been leaked online. Hacker group DERP Trolling publicly claimed responsibility for the Origin attack via Twitter, referencing their use of a DDoS tool they dubbed the "Gaben Laser Beam," a satirical reference to Valve founder Gabe Newell. The same group had previously targeted Battle.net, League of Legends, World of Tanks, and EA.com earlier that week using similar methods. Separate Twitter users unrelated to DERP claimed responsibility for the concurrent Steam attack. These incidents escalated from prior disruptions targeting games PhantomL0rd streamed for monetization to direct personal harassment, culminating in a swatting incident where police were falsely dispatched to his home, resulting in his temporary detainment in handcuffs during a live stream.
The coordinated attacks disrupted service availability across major gaming platforms but were resolved by the time of reporting, with all affected services restored to normal operation. DERP Trolling denied involvement in the swatting incident despite their admitted role in the gaming platform disruptions, maintaining a public phone number for third parties to request DDoS targets. The group's actions demonstrated the vulnerability of gaming infrastructure to retaliatory attacks stemming from online disputes, as the initial gaming service disruptions evolved into real-world harassment against PhantomL0rd. This incident marked one of the first documented cases where large-scale gaming platform outages were directly tied to a personal vendetta against an individual content creator, exposing the potential for cascading consequences when online harassment intersects with critical service infrastructure.