Xbox Live Down; Hacker Group Claims Responsibility

It appears Xbox Live services are down for both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Reddit users have been posting issues with Microsoft's live services and Microsoft has updated their official status page. Meanwhile a greyhat hackergroup has claimed responsibility.

[n4rc]

ugh....

[kayoss]

Here we go again. We have a moment of peace then...BAM! these hackers rear their ugly heads.
They are like Herpies, dont know when it will attack and can never get rid of it.

[subtenko]

If only M$ and others would take this more seriously. I'm tired of Xbox Live being down and getting hacked. We pay for the service and it's down again due to hackers.

WTF, M$ when are you going to use this "cloud" to help out with everything and solve all of the problems?

I may as well go with Nintendo online being more reliable.

[Pogmathoin]

Yes, M$ and $ony charge for online, so they both should be doing something about it.... you see what I did there? Highlight your terrible attempt at trolling.
This is not nice for anyone... these are just people with a miserable life, thinking they gain some fame from this..... whether it happens to PSN or XL, its pathetic.

[camel_toad]

Do you mean herpes or harpies? 2 very different things ;) both a pain though.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Despiyte XBL functioning just fine for me I agree. If it wasn't for no life Anonymous 5 years ago attacking PSN we wouldn't have these so called "hackers" and hackivist or whatever they call themselves.

But then again these sorta things were bound to happen eventually through time. With the popularity of online network through PSN and XBL this would be the right day and age to screw with our networks from time to time.

With that being said I don't care if its 2025 and hacking a little mobile phone is cool thing to do in somebodies free time, HACKING NETWORKS IS NOT NORMAL AND NEVER WILL BE.

These no life's need to be taken care of because they're popping up like weeds now.

Because I don't wanna casually accept this as normal in our industry or in day and age. This sort of thing needs to be taken care of and needs to taken care of now.

[kayoss]

@camel_toad
Herpies as the std's that no one wants but no one can get rid of.

[WilDRangeRfc]

So you have herpies????

[DanzoSAMA]

it was down for a one hour, it's back up now.

We’ve got good news, Xbox members. Everything is back to normal and working as it should. Thanks for all your patience!

http://support.xbox.com/en-...

This is Microsoft

[Condemnedman]

27 bitter disagrees 😁

[Magicite]

nobody's safe.

[subtenko]

Xbox Live down by hackers AGAIN. Step your sh*t up M$!!!

[vega275]

I'm pretty sure Sony could teach them a thing or two about security right /s

[wakeNbake]

PSN has been hacked far more frequently and succesfully in the past.

[subtenko]

Wow so you all don't want M$ to improve Xbox Live security? Something is wrong with you all. I dont want this to keep happening. They need to do something.

Perhaps instead of talking about PSN, you should be focusing on the current situation and that's M$ Xbox Live. Thats why nothings getting done, you aren't coming up with solutions to the problem!

PSN is up, Xbox Live isnt. I'm asking M$ to fix Xbox Live, not talking about PSN..

@Bdub2000, this is what I'm talking about...why are you talking about Sony when this is about Xbox Live....that's why M$ aint taking us seriously. Ya'll talking about Sony instead of putting the pressure on M$...

M$ needs to take a note from Nintendo. Or Sony as they seem to listen to their fans more than M$ does

[Bdub2000]

Sigh... Here comes the fanboy war...

Rather than turn this in to a X1 vs PS4 troll fest, why cant we all just be appalled that some D-bags are preventing us from playing games?

Subtenko:
Sony isn't invincible to this exact same attack. It happens to both consoles frequently, and it sucks no matter who you are as a gamer.

[vega275]

Again since you think Sony listens to fans and don't get hacked as you keep thinking. Maybe they need to tell everyone else how they are soooo invincible to these kind of attacks. I mean like you said they listen to you guys.

Funny you don't want to talk about Sony since they have been hacked far more than anyone. So with that kind of experience they should be pro at stopping it right

[DragonbornZ]

....Wow.
It's crazy to see how quick every is to believe it was actually some random group of hackers no one has heard of before today.

[3-4-5]

uhh it's working fine.

[nosferatuzodd]

i don't give a dam if its ps4 or xbox one, these morons need to get a life and stop ruining peoples enjoyment i mean come on isn't this getting old now. get a life you live your parents basement have no friends and no girlfriend losers if i try to do shit like that my girlfriend would give me the evil eye so you know they don't have any friends or girlfriends to set them straight

[greenlantern2814]

These people need to get a life, this just sucks for the gamers who want to just play games.

[uth11]

grrrrr

[G20WLY]

Arf arf, grrr... Rrrrruff?

[uth11]

roo roo roo, hiss, snarlll

[G20WLY]

Hnnnn hnnnn Hhhhnnnnn...

Rrraaaaggiieee, Rrrelllp! :o/

[Sarah_Ch]

Ugh, I was going to play battlefield hardline 😔

[vikingland1]

Yeah it's down for me. I hate these no life hacks.

[JMaine518]

These dude have no life! I'm sick of this crap!!!!

[lilmisscherry]

These people...seriously. -_-

[vikingland1]

I guess they are doing it to show that our subscription fees are for naught.

[pivotplease]

That does seem to be the main reason. It's funny though because they are always just hurting the consumer that they are trying to vouch for. Sony and MS are at the point though where I think they will improve their servers and security. It's too embarrassing for them not to.

This particular scenario is far from a confirmed hack though.

[Sokol]

Nothing else to do with their lives it seems...

[barb_wire]

I'm having limited access on XBL.. some things work, some don't.

Either way, these so called hackers need to go get laid or something.

[The_Sage]

These people should be jailed.

[TheVigilanteCode]

Ah, the 15 seconds of fame kids are back I see. Spotlight whoring can only get you so much before you end up behind bars. Try something else for starters, like going to high school ?

[Nio-Nai]

A DDOS attack really isn't "hacking" They said they are just flooding the network.

Outside of forcing users to site in a queue to gain access or providing a verification prior by sending to a separate server before hand which would cause slower connections as it is, it's not really possible to protect against this sort of an attack. And even then some can still get through as it's just a network request to the address.

So I really don't see why people use the excuse they are using by saying "we are showing how bad their protection is."

[TheUndertaker85]

Not really arguing that you're incorrect at all because frankly, it is a thought.

However at the same time one must take into account DDoSing led to the PSN hack some time ago. By even taking down part of the system they're removing a cog so to speak. May not stop everything but the one cog does help and serves a purpose.

[ScorpiusX]

Tired of this BS from these Arses, Wish these A-hole would just do the world a favor and walking into on coming traffic or jump in front of a speeding train .

[WikusVanDeMerwe]

Wishing death on anyone for something so minor as internet interference is taking it one step too far there, buddy. Go outside and gain some sanity.

[jaeEvuhL]

ddos isnt minor tho people pay for internet your messing with peoples money which isnt minor Buddy

[WikusVanDeMerwe]

Like I said @jae, you need to grow up as well. Money is everywhere but lives are limited. To say someone's life is worth something as petty as internet or paper money is absolutely insane. You need to really stop and think about the things you say and realize how wrong they are.

[vikingland1]

Well look at all the disagrees. Someone actually took the time to disagree with everyone that's mad about this smh.

[Nio-Nai]

I just noticed this, and I find it very strange.

Possibly members of the group are here?

[Immorals]

Doubt it, just n4g logic. People would disagree about absolutely anything on here, even if it's a grounded fact.

[lemoncake]

Seems more like it's almost time for the next preview update than anything else, timing seems about right for the next one to drop in the next few days.

[Cobberwebb]

Back up for me :) Back to Neverwinter!

[christocolus]

It seems so. Purchase and content usage, Social and gaming are all up at the moment..

http://support.xbox.com/en-...

[vikingland1]

Back on for me too. It's limited though.

[Phoenix76]

Info from wiki. The grey hat will neither illegally exploit it, nor tell others how to do so.

So why are they called greyhats when they say "We have root at their main DNS using NTP floods via Layer 7 attacks."

Is that not telling others of a means on how to do it?

[TheUndertaker85]

Double post, sorry

[TheUndertaker85]

I guess it depends on how you look at it. They aren't stating step by step how to do so themselves. Merely pointing out the method they're using, not the means.

[StevenSeagul]

Don't these fools have anything better to do?

[StrayaKNT]

So it was down for a hour lol it's back up guys.

[christocolus]

Lol at the disagrees.it seems some guys in here were secretly wishing the service would remain down for a lot longer. Great job MS. Some weeks ago Phil said they were working on improving the service. Seems he was actually right.

[StrayaKNT]

Lol yeah they're upset but that's life atleast it was a hour not a day or two like other networks

[Izzy408]

And all they do is prove your point by giving you more disagrees. Lol.

[Skate-AK]

What? Who the F is Greyhat? This DDOS stuff is just ridiculous.

[MasterCornholio]

Black Hat
Grey Hat
White Hat

Just terminology for different types of hackers. Essentially the Black Hats are the bad kind of hackers. The ones who hack into people accounts and steal their money. The grey hats can be seen as neutral hackers. They are the ones who hack systems so the firms notice the security flaws in them. The white hats are the ones who defend us from malicious hackers and protect us from the programs that they create.

[Skate-AK]

Ah gotcha. Thought it was a new Lizard Squad or some BS.

[MasterCornholio]

Heres a Wiki on it in case your interested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

"Thought it was a new Lizard Squad or some BS."

All the hacking groups are the same to me. Doesnt matter if their anonymous or lizard squad. Anyone can make a claim to be a member of those groups.

[Nio-Nai]

For people who don't know a "layer 7" attack is simply an application attack that acts like human activity. Pretty much all they are doing is acting as regular XBL users and simply requesting access over and over again.

Protection for something like this would require users to connect to a separate server prior to connecting to XBL to filter them out, however even with this you can't prevent an "attack", it would just limit it. The problem is to even get this far you would end up spending a lot of money on additional servers or paying an outsourced company to regulate this.

Just to give a a price on it, several medium sized companies run DDOS protection on things like L7 attacks, and they cost a couple hundred thousand dollars. Something to lower the success of these attacks, not prevent would cost Microsoft well over a couple of million dollars to run. And if they added something like this it would only lower the quality of the actual connection to the servers, and also possibly raise the cost of XBL gold. For no gain to the average user since these attacks never last more then a few hours as it is.

So as I covered earlier these "kids" are using a reason that is complete nonsense.

[StormLegend]

Well that sucks I hope it's back online soon.

[green]

Back up

[Fro_xoxo]

it's back up..

Microsoft does not waste time getting the service back up and running.

[christocolus]

That was fast indeed. Core gaming services are up and most apps too. The so called “hackers” didn't even get enough time to celebrate. Great job MS.

[22CobraKing]

This is what happens when you says things about psn last time it's been down. Everything can get hacked at some point.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Yes but DDoS attacks are different from actually "hacking" the system. No information was hacked just a bunch of twits with too much time on their hands creating a sort of internet traffic jam for an online service.

[HaleHankock]

Well it may be back up and letting me sign in but I can't access my settings app. Xbox live is the most unreliable paid service I've ever experienced

[christocolus]

Wow. Isn't that a bit harsh?xbox live hasn't been down in a long while.a group just tried bringing the entire service down and MS had it back up and running in less than an hour. gaming ,content purchase and other social features are up and you complaining about app settings? The other day you were mad about windows apps coming to xbox one and all that. Instead of getting all worked up complaining 24/7 about xbox and its services why not just sell the damn thing and get something you think you'll be happy with. There's the wiiu, ps4 and a lot of mobile devices out there to game on. Who knows? You might find their online services more reliable and better suited to your tastes too.

[HaleHankock]

I have higher expectations for xbox and truly was a huge fan before xb1. The 360 worked great before I bought my day one xb1. Then all I get for the next 2 years is poorly designed party functionality and unreliable services. For some reason people give xbox a golden pass for being crappy out the gate like the 360 was. I'll never understand why it's just ok or expected to drop $500 on something built so incomplete. Nothing I own has as many issues as my xbox one. I just want it to work.

[StrayaKNT]

Well then you have never experienced psn cause its much much much much much worse

[MasterCornholio]

Nope

:)

[kenshiro100]

Maybe if you have bad internet.

[krypt1983]

lol I have seriously been on xbl all morning so they must suck ..

[Mroc13]

Why don't these fools hack ISIS?

[Tsubasa-Oozora]

Bc ISIS was created by U.S gov

[Mroc13]

Point? They still should be destroyed.

[gosukyomomma]

lol 5 very uneducated people here... do your research people ISIS Al Qaedea both were CIA created.

[Khajiit86]

ISIS has a better network than MS

[Nottheguyyouwant]

.

[psforward]

If true I hope those responsible get ass cancer.

Edited due to autocorrect.

[Skankinruby]

But i thought Xbox live was untouchable and only psn had issues? Maybe articles like this will force fanboys to find a new argument.

[Ace Killa 08]

NO only children will keep this argument going

[its_JEFF]

Hmm... It's funny reading through the comments, it seems that no one is allowed to be upset about this. Even simple comments like "Not this again" are met with disagrees as if it's some kind of troll statement against MS. It seems we can no longer express our disappointment with either of these companies, MS/Sony, online security without being labeled as "fanboys" by most likely... the fanboys. Fandom is slowly turning into warship, soon some of these companies will be beyond questioning to some people... it's just video games.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I would beg to differ. It seems to me that expressing our disappointment at these companies...and any game industry company for that fact has become the norm not the rarity. We see countless articles across all platforms expressing displeasure and / or finding fault in what they do or did.

The disagrees / agrees in situations of this kind are hardly keeping you from presenting your thoughts so I don't see how you feel you are not "allowed" to be upset about it. Clearly you are, your post and others are visible for all to see and are not being "hidden" or "deleted". Your voice/post is as loud as any other post.

[fayz]

i also would like to claim responsibility for it.. just reporting it... even though xbl is working fine for me

i broke the dam

[Arty84]

so whats the excuse this time how does taking away peoples enjoyment "helping the people/screwing the man!" this month?

[raymantalk1]

blaming MS/Sony for hackers bringing down the network there is not alot they can do good hackers can hack into anything no matter what you do not that there actually good really just a nousense.

[MCTJim]

Let me see..monitor xbox live status page...when something happens, claim responsibility...get notoriety..check

[theFAYEsorceress]

i think the more tragic thing is that the people doing it actually think they have lives...

[Tedakin]

They're high fiving each other alone in their basement... because they achieved... something? Something they can't tell anyone about? To feel good about themselves?

[Fortuna]

Please don't take down PSN, I'm pre-loading MKX as we speak.

[Izzy408]

Working fine for me. The hackers must really suck.

[TheHaloGuy]

Haven't tried, is it up?

[Ace Killa 08]

some red check marks, but nothing major . - http://support.xbox.com/en-...

Still the OP of this story won't update that since he got the clicks he wanted.

[shysun]

Nooooo!

[ziggurcat]

i really wish these people would do something a little more constructive with their time instead of ruining people's experience with their gaming system.

[AstroCyborg]

funny i've had no issues

[DDOS-DelDaemonicOSes]

Sniffing for open backdoors to insert code or pinging backends as hard as possible to bring big business down and the rejection of "Ms" are all related... to being fLAMERS. Probably it was done by those who love daemonic OSes.

[KidKenobi]

Why can't hackers just leave gamers alone :/ we didn't do nothing!

[thricetold]

Sooooo instead of EVERYONE focusing on the hackers we have the fanboys attacking the other fanboys, like that's going to solve ANYTHING.

This is why we can't have nice things.

[ScaryMonkey]

Strange how when PSN goes down its fire and brimstone and the end of the world, but when XBL goes down its just "experiencing issues". Sony apparently needs to hire a reputation management specialist on the same level as Microsoft.