Hacktivist group Anonymous Sudan has claimed that it launched a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack against American video game developer and publisher Riot Games.
The group announced in a Telegram post that the attack lasted between 30 minutes to one hour. However, the initial investigation by The Cyber Express found that the Riot Games website remained active and unaffected.
Threat intelligence services, too, have not confirmed the authenticity of the claim. “Anonymous Sudan allegedly target the login portal of Riot Games,” said the heading of an alert by Falcon Feeds.
Coincidentally, the alleged attack happened two days after the company declared that it will be on summer break.
If confirmed, this would mark the second instance of a large-scale cyber attack against Riot Games that has come to public attention.
The Cyber Express has reached out to the media relations team of Riot Games to confirm the incident. We are yet to get a response from the company.
The Riot Games Cyber Attack: A Deep Dive into the Past
Riot Games, famed for its development of the multiplayer online battle arena game, League of Legends, has been facing recurrent cyber threats.
In January, the company acknowledged being targeted by a cyber attack, specifically describing it as a “social engineering attack” on its Twitter account.
In a series of posts on Twitter, Riot Games swiftly reassured its extensive user base that no player data or personal information had been compromised during the breach.
However, the attack’s severity was laid bare when the company confessed to the theft of source codes for some of its popular video games.
Showing audacity, the attackers demanded a hefty ransom of $10 million, threatening to reveal the stolen source codes.
Standing its ground, Riot Games categorically declined this demand. They maintained, “Today, we received a ransom email. Needless to say, we won’t pay.”
Despite acknowledging that the Riot Games cyber attack disrupted their build environment and could cause future issues, the company was confident that no player data or personal information was compromised.
Anonymous Sudan: The Unrelenting Cyber Threat
Anonymous Sudan is not a new entrant in the realm of cyber threats. This DDoS attack on Riot Games comes close on the heels of the group claiming responsibility for attacks on various media companies, marking a significant escalation in their threat campaign.
Among the victims of these attacks were prominent names such as Agence France-Presse (AFP), Hebrew Radio 103 FM, and Channel 7.
The motives driving Anonymous Sudan’s attack on Riot Games remain a mystery, mirroring the shadowy and unpredictable nature of such hacktivist groups.
However, it underscores a pattern of targeted cyberattacks on high-profile companies, leaving a trail of disruption in their wake.
Anonymous Sudan and Microsoft: A Tale of Denial and Acceptance
In a further twist to this complex saga, Anonymous Sudan has had a previous encounter with another tech behemoth – Microsoft.
The hacktivist group claimed a successful breach on the company’s servers, alleging to have stolen credentials for more than 30 million customer accounts.
Microsoft, however, presented a starkly contrasting narrative. The company vehemently denied these claims, adding a layer of intrigue to the story.
Anonymous Sudan, known for its debilitating DDoS attacks against Western entities, is rumored to be affiliated with pro-Russian hacktivist groups like Killnet.
While Microsoft denied the breach of its customer accounts, it did admit to some disturbance caused by Anonymous Sudan.
The company acknowledged that the hacktivist group was responsible for service disruptions and outages at the beginning of June. These disruptions impacted several key Microsoft services, including Azure, Outlook, and OneDrive.
Adding to the controversy, the hacktivist group claimed to have accessed a large database containing more than 30 million Microsoft accounts, emails, and passwords.
In a brazen move, Anonymous Sudan offered to sell this database for a whopping $50,000. They invited interested buyers to communicate with their Telegram bot to arrange the purchase of this potentially damaging data. The audacity of such an offer highlights the brazen nature of cyber threats today.
Media Disclaimer: This report is based on internal and external research obtained through various means. The information provided is for reference purposes only, and users bear full responsibility for their reliance on it. The Cyber Express assumes no liability for the accuracy or consequences of using this information.
