PlayStation Network: PSN Services Returning After Lizard Squad Hack, Users Share Tips, Frustration Online

Update: 12:30 p.m. EST: Sony says it is working on continued sign-in issues for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 users.

The Sony Corp.’s PlayStation Network services are slowly returning to users after the Lizard Squad hacked into it and the Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox Live service Christmas Day. Sony announced it is restoring PSN services via Twitter early Saturday, while Xbox Live is already back online.

The Lizard Squad has previously targeted Sony and Microsoft, as well as Electronic Arts Inc. The hacker group knocked PSN and Xbox Live offline in August, then claimed to have disbanded in September. However, the Lizard Squad returned this month, disrupting both services.

Users on the gaming forum NeoGAF have provided PSN status updates and login tricks since Christmas Eve. Some users are still experiencing trouble accessing PSN services, while others are reporting the network remains down. Users in Arizona, California, New York, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia, as well as Australia, Brazil, the Philippines and the U.K., have been able to sign in, but many of them have reported being kicked offline. One forum thread includes a login trick that involves changing the MTU setting found in the Network Settings.

On the forum, many users criticized Sony’s handling of the situation, but most have expressed frustration that they have been unable to play their downloaded or online games.

Speaking of the motivation for the attack, a couple of members of the Lizard Squad said they mostly did it for their own amusement in an interview with the Daily Dot. They indicated they wanted to demonstrate their prowess while exposing the shortcomings of Sony and Microsoft. To prevent a similar attack in the future, a Lizard Squad member using the handle “Ryan Clearly” said: “I’d buy more bandwidth, some specific equipment, and configure it correctly. It’s just about programming skill. With an attack of this scale, it could go up to the millions. But that’s really no problem for Sony and Microsoft.”