Hacker group threatens to take down Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on Christmas

Get ready to be extremely frustrated come Christmas Day.

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A new hacker group has threatened to take down both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on Christmas and promise to keep them down for one week straight.

Phantom Squad made the threat via their Twitter account, which says the following:

The hacker group says it’s in no way associated with Lizard Squad, even though it appears to share similar targets with the now-defunct group. The Phantom Squad has targeted a variety of game servers, touting it took down the servers for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Grand Theft Auto 5, and even Reddit.

As far as why Phantom Squad attacks various online services, their response is simple: “Because cyber security does not exist.”

Whether or not Phantom Squad will be able to stay true to its promise of taking down both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live on Christmas is yet to be seen. But considering it has supplied proof of its work on several occasions, we wouldn’t be surprised if both online services experience some kind of interruption come Christmas Day.

Last year, Lizard Squad took down both PlayStaion Network and Xbox Live on Christmas Day "for the lulz." Let's hope both Sony and Microsoft have beefed up their security this year to help combat Phantom Squad's threat to ruin yet another Christmas for gamers.

Senior Editor
From The Chatty
  • reply
    December 15, 2015 8:03 AM

    Daniel Perez posted a new article, Hacker group threatens to take down Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on Christmas

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      December 15, 2015 8:06 AM

      Well I hope they enjoy themselves. Being a dick to everyone because you can is so cool!

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      December 15, 2015 8:08 AM

      Where are the real hackers?

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      December 15, 2015 8:10 AM

      Calling these idiots hackers gives them too much credit.

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      December 15, 2015 8:12 AM

      Pretty ingenious of them to preemptively take credit for something that happens every holiday on it's own.

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        December 15, 2015 8:45 AM

        Haha exactly. Every fucking christmas. The year I got my 3DS was THE WORST. I couldn't connect to the eShop for like a week.

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      December 15, 2015 8:16 AM

      Pc master race. So glad I don't have to deal with that crap on the pc side.

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        December 15, 2015 8:42 AM

        Uhhhhh LizardSquad killed LoL, Battle.net and (I believe?) Steam several times last year

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      December 15, 2015 8:34 AM

      Good I could use a break and the feds could use a bust.

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      December 15, 2015 8:40 AM

      I'll have to remember to check its status before giving the boy his new Disney Infinity stuff lol

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        December 15, 2015 8:41 AM

        what's the backup gift if it's down?

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          December 15, 2015 8:42 AM

          he gets to play in an empty cardboard box

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            December 15, 2015 8:49 AM

            Unless Phantom Squad declares war on all cardboard boxes.

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        December 15, 2015 8:51 AM

        You should install it and patch it up before christmas and then he can just play offline. Might not be a bad idea anyway since the networks are all shit on christmas morning regardless.

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          December 15, 2015 8:59 AM

          I was actually already considering that so there would be no wait on the install. I guess I have to do it now and just keep him off the xbone for a day or two so he wont see it.

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            December 15, 2015 9:07 AM

            Yeah I'm glad you brought it up. We already have 3.0, but my son is getting The Force Awakens playset for christmas and I'm sure there will be a patch or 2 to install before the big day.

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      December 15, 2015 9:01 AM

      Luckily no one gives a shit about the Wii U so I'll be able to play Xenoblade Chronicles X online with no fear.

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        December 15, 2015 9:09 AM

        It might not get hacked but Nintendo's shit is always crippled on Christmas morning.

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      December 15, 2015 9:19 AM

      [deleted]

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      December 15, 2015 8:41 PM

      Yeah, those hackers are so super cool... ruining my kids Christmas last year and not allowing them to play Disney Infinity 2.0 on their most anticipated day of the year was so RAD! You guys are the best! If you were that age and somebody fucked with the Internet on Christmas day you totally wouldn't rage out and want to kill somebody. That is why I love you guys. You crazy hackers you.


      fuck you all you fucking retards, I'd strangle you with my own hands if I could

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      December 15, 2015 9:15 PM

      [deleted]

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      December 15, 2015 10:29 PM

      Good thing I only asked for Wii U games for Christmas.

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      December 16, 2015 1:15 AM

      Death penalty.

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