Sony’s latest headache and now-notorious hacktivists Lizard Squad have allegedly disbanded following heightened rhetoric by the FBI, Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley, and counter-efforts by rival gamer/activist group Activist Revolution.
Lizard squad first caught Sony’s attention after causing massive delays in PlayStationNetwork’s online gaming service through a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. The attack caused login errors and slow-running service for users, creating a frenzy of unsatisfied sony customers, and a possible PR nightmare for Sony . Following the DDOS, Lizard Squad released a carping criticism against the gaming giant for not securing their network against vulnerabilities properly.
Sony, yet another large company, but they aren’t spending the waves of cash they obtain on their customers’ PSN service. End the greed.
— Lizard Squad (@LizardSquad) August 24, 2014
Their biggest mistake, however, could be what they did afterwards.
Yes. My plane was diverted. Not going to discuss more than that. Justice will find these guys.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) August 24, 2014
Following their attack on PSN servers, Lizard Squad tweeted a bomb threat against Sony Online Entertainment’s President John Smedley, causing his flight to ground, and facilitating a need for investigation by the FBI.
Looks like the feds have got Komodo and Iguana now. I think I’m next. Good luck FBI.
— Lizard Squad (@LizardSquad) August 30, 2014
In the aftermath of the scandal, Lizard Squad insinuated that two members of the team were picked up by authorities and another gaming activist group, known as Activist Revolution, released photos that appear to be members of Lizard Squad congregating in a chat session, the authenticity and reliability of the photos taken as well as Liard Squad’s statement remain under question.
Lizard Squad released an official statement on their twitter page and pastebin announcing that they’ve disbanded since the Sony affair, citing the proverb: “little thieves are hanged, but great ones escape.”
Due to the FBI’s history of cracking down and flipping hacktivists; the likelihood of the reptilian bandits wriggling away unscathed from the Sony incident doesn’t seem to be in the cards. And while Lizard Squad prides themselves over escaping the consequences of their work, it’s fair to say that they might need to knock on wood – we hear the wifi signal in prison is almost as terrible as it is on campus.