Update:

Days after the Lizard Squad hacker group supposedly attacked both Sony's PlayStation Network and Microsoft's Xbox Live, there are still issues with both services. Xbox Live's service status page still claims limited connectivity overall, but its core services, its online store, and its social and entertainment apps are up and running. Xbox's apps for Maxim, MLG and IGN are still experiencing limited connectivity and issues loading.

Polygon reports that the PSN is still fighting to return to a fully functional state. Apps like YouTube and the WWE Network are still having loading issues and overall connectivity to the PlayStation Network has been shaky over the past 48 hours. With Lizard Squad's reported DDoS attacks combined with the high volume of users (both new systems and existing ones alike) trying to access the PSN during the holiday week, Sony's teams are working hard to fix the network's access. The PlayStation Blog stated the following the other day in regards to the outages:

The video game industry has been experiencing high levels of traffic designed to disrupt connectivity and online gameplay. Multiple networks, including PSN, have been affected over the last 48 hours. PSN engineers are working hard to restore full network access and online gameplay as quickly as possible.

From time to time there may be disruptions in service due to surges in traffic, but our engineers will be working to restore service as quickly as possible.

If you received a PlayStation console over the holidays and have been unable to log onto the network, know that this problem is temporary and is not caused by your game console. We'll continue to keep you posted on Twitter at @AskPlayStation and we'll update this post once the problems subside.

Thanks again for your patience.

Just hours later, Sony Tweeted that everything is returning back to normal. PlayStation's Support Home Page also indicates that everything is now running smoothly.

Original Story:

During a day when people are booting up their new Xbox Ones and PlayStation 4s for the first time, a group of Grinches have decided to try and ruin things for everyone online.

During what is supposed to be one of the most joyful days of the year for families across the world, the hacker group Lizard Squad claims responsibility for hitting Microsoft's Xbox Live and Sony's PlayStation Network with DDoS attacks, Tech Worm reports. The Lizard Squad's main Twitter account has been banned, but other representatives of the group (warning: NSFW language) are saying they are the reason why both Xbox Live and the PSN have been experiencing outages throughout the past 24 hours.

In response, a pro gaming hacker crew called The Finest Squad has been exposing various members of the Lizard Squad to the proper authorities. Unfortunately, the deviant hacker group appears to always be a step ahead of The Finest Squad. Xbox's servers are currently up, but they have been experiencing outages every few hours on the official server status page (which currently lists accessibility as "Limited"). The same could be said of Sony, as the official PlayStation Help Twitter made a comment about the PSN's recent issues:

Here's to hoping these hackers get caught and the attacks stop. Go hack the Westboro or KKK websites instead of doing this sort of thing, Lizard Squad. Just leave the gaming community alone so we can play our new games in peace without bothering anyone.

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