DDoS Attack or What? Sony’s PlayStation Network is Down Worldwide (Updated)

No, you are not the only one, Sony’s PlayStation network is down worldwide. 

Sony’s PlayStation network on PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 are down and the irritating fact for gamers is that the company has not given any time frame when the service will be back online.

The service went down this morning when gamers headed towards the official twitter help account of PlayStation for assistance. The handle @AskPlayStation confirmed that the service is down and the engineers are doing everything possible to bring the service back online.

We're aware that some users are having trouble accessing PSN. Thanks for your patience as we investigate. https://t.co/8hMUSl2cCe

— Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) January 4, 2016

A screenshot from status.playstation.com shows the service is down:

It is unclear what caused the outage worldwide nor any hacking group has accepted responsibility for targeting the PlayStation network with their usual DDoS attacks. However, one Twitter user shared an Interesting DDoS map showing cyber attacks on the US from Chinese side (That doesn’t mean there was an attack on PlayStation network by Chinese hackers).

Mass Chinese attack routed through .se now going direct after US takes down earlier Swedish route #psn #psndown pic.twitter.com/lU9GOnfFJv

— DNA Cowboy (@DNA_Cowboy) January 4, 2016

This is not the first time when the PlayStation Network has gone offline, in fact, the company has a history of outages. In December 2014, the network faced DDoS attacks from Lizard Squad and went offline for hours. In 2011, PlayStation Network faced a security breach which forced the network to stay offline for 23 days.

A Tweet by Ask PlayStation account updated the users that ”We are still working on resolving today’s issues with PSN.”

We are still working on resolving today's issues with PSN. Thanks for your continued patience. For current status: https://t.co/cLXo9fGH27

— Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) January 4, 2016

Let’s wait for confirmation from Sony if this was a DDoS attack or a technical problem. Either way, we will update you shortly. 

UPDATE:

The PlayStation network is back online. It is still unclear what really happened, however, the attackers from Phantom Squad claim they conducted a DDoS attack on Sony’s PSN leading to a worldwide outage. An updated article on this issue is available here.

An update is available here.