Final Fantasy XIV Bombarded with DDoS Attacks

Square Enix‘ popular Final Fantasy XIV online RPG is facing relentless DDoS attacks, causing problems in-game. The status is confirmed by Square Enix on their Final Fantasy XIV website, and stated that the attacks have been ongoing since June 16. The DDos Attacks are primarily targeting the North American server, and is responsible for the network problems on June 16, 19 and 21. There are currently no leads as to who is doing this or why exactly, and nobody has yet come forward to claim responsibility.

Evolving DDoS Attacks

In a normal DDoS attack, the attacker increases the server load to an extensive level. This causes the server to drop connections due to overwhelming requests. Since the attack is using a large number of computers, it is difficult to pinpoint the attack’s origins. These multiple attacking systems are “botnets”, comprising of hijacked computers.

The problems Square Enix is experiencing is facing another level of difficulty since the attacker apparently is changing methods constantly. Thankfully, at least according to Square Enix, personal information and character data is safe for now. The attack’s focus seems to be mostly just simply for disrupting service rather than stealing any information. With the sheer number of online IoT devices, it is not surprising that the issue persists. The more IoT devices there are, the better it is for the hacker. Especially since IoT devices are often open and hijackable as a botnet to launch DDoS attacks.