Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Xbox hit by apparent cyberattacks

Microsoft's Xbox Live and Sony's PlayStation Networks experienced user connection problems on Christmas Day, as a hacker group calling itself Lizard Squad claimed responsibility.

Lizard Squad could not be reached for comment.

Neither Microsoft nor Sony gave a reason for the connectivity issues. Both companies expected heavy use on Dec. 25, as people who received Microsoft Xbox players or Sony PlayStations as gifts tried to hook them up. Representatives at Sony and Microsoft did not immediately respond for comment.

"Are you having a rough time signing in to Xbox Live?" a service alert on Microsoft's Xbox Live product website asked. "We’re working to get this figured out right away. We appreciate your patience." Two hours after the message was posted at 4:33 p.m. Eastern time, the Xbox Live site said technicians were still "hard at work trying to reach a solution."

By the morning of Dec. 26, the connectivity issues for XBox had been resolved. Sony, however, was unable to fix the PlayStation delays.

As of 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on Dec. 25, PlayStation Network was still offline, according to the device's status page. "We are aware that some users are experiencing difficulty logging into the PSN," it said. "We will update this article with any changes that occur in regards to this issue. Thank you for your patience."

"I have the nation on strings," Lizard Squad wrote on its Twitter account. It also said it would put the game network sites back online if enough people retweeted its messages.

Earlier on Thursday, Microsoft Xbox spokesman Sean McCarthy declined to give details of how the company may have been preparing for security breaches, given the problems that Sony has experienced in releasing "The Interview."

"Of course, it’s safe to say holiday season is always a very busy time of year for any consumer electronics company, so we work hard to ensure the stability of our infrastructure when so many consoles are activating for the first time," McCarthy said.

Three Xbox platforms were affected by the service problem: Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Xbox on other devices, Microsoft's status website said.

Reuters