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If you couldn\u2019t get your Xbox or PlayStation online this Christmas, it wasn\u2019t just you; Xbox Live and PlayStation Network were both down for the majority of Christmas Day, allegedly thanks to a group of malicious hackers making good on their threats.<\/p>\n
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Earlier this month, a group called Lizard Squad threatened to bring down the gaming services on Christmas and it seems it was successful, especially if you take into account the statement<\/a> released by Sony over the weekend:<\/p>\n PlayStation Network is back online. As you probably know, PlayStation Network and some other gaming services were attacked over the holidays with artificially high levels of traffic designed to disrupt connectivity and online gameplay. This may have prevented your access to the network and its services over the last few days.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Daily Dot, a supposed member of the group said that \u201cMicrosoft and Sony are\u2026 literally monkeys behind computers,\u201d and that \u201cthey would have better luck if they actually hired someone who knew what they were doing.\u201d They suggested that the companies hire people who have been arrested for \u201cstuff like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Another member said that if they \u201chad a big enough budget,\u201d that they \u201ccould totally stop these attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d buy more bandwidth, some specific equipment, and configure it correctly. It\u2019s just about programming skill. With an attack of this scale it could go up to the millions. But that\u2019s really no problem for Sony and Microsoft.\u201d<\/p>\n