'Pokemon Go' recent server downtime was reportedly a result of a hacking group's cyber-attack. (Photo : Getty Images/Olivia Harris)
The recent server downtime issue that many "Pokemon Go" players have experienced over the July 16 weekend has reportedly been attributed to a hacking group flooding the game's servers with a cyber-attack.
When the mobile gaming app "Pokemon Go" was first launched in the United States, Australia and New Zealand in early July, many gamers experienced being logged out of the game due to stability issues. Although Niantic Labs has already deployed a game update to address the issue, the same situation again happened to several players during the July 16 weekend. However, the recent server downtime was said to be a result of a cyber-attack from hacking group PoodleCorp.
PoodleCorp took to Twitter on Saturday, July 16, to reveal that the group was responsible for the game's recent stability issues, Independent reported. The said Twitter message read, "PokemonGo #Offline #PoodleCorp." Another social media post made by a Twitter user who claimed to be the leader of the hacking group stated that the recent server was an experiment to showcase their hacking skills. The said PoodleCorp leader also warned "Pokemon Go" players that they are planning a large-scale cyber-attack soon.
The hacking group is said to have utilized a DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack on the game's servers, as indicated in the report. A DDOS cyber-attack can render a server inaccessible, or even crash it, by flooding the server with numerous requests. Many "Pokemon Go" players across the world have reported being logged out of the game on Saturday or were unable to play it due to game freezing issues.
Numerous Pokemon fans have also shared their frustrations on Twitter over PoodleCorp's hacking actions. The same report captured the comments of some Twitter users who stated that they were unhappy over the hacker group's cyber-attack.
Meanwhile, a message posted on the game's Twitter page on Sunday, July 17, indicated that game's technical team has already identified the problem and addressed the server issues, Attack of the Fanboy reported. The said Twitter message ended with a notice, as well as an invitation, for players to continue their quest in searching for Pokemon characters in various locations in the real world.
"Pokemon Go" was recently released in Germany and the United Kingdom. Watch a trailer for the mobile gaming app below:
