Albion Online News: Hackers Attack Sandbox
Earlier in August, players of Albion Online were unable to get their fill of the recently-launched medieval MMO game, as the game’s servers were hit by a DDoS attack. The Albion DDoS attacks were first reported on August 4, and continued throughout the weekend, as numerous players were shut out of the game with the server’s offline. What happened on that fateful weekend in August is the buzz in Albion Online News within the MMO community.
Table of Contents
What went down with the attack?
As mentioned above, the DDoS attack had crippled Albion Online servers a few weeks back, and reports were suggesting that it might have been a result of the game’s developers, Sandbox Interactive, taking action against illegal gold sellers. These sellers might have likely been upset by the company’s attempts to crack down on them, which could have convinced them to contact hacking crews or disrupt Sandbox’s servers themselves. Making matters worse was the subsequent report that Sandbox was held up for ransom money, or “blackmailed,” as the studio described it. This is most likely in response to our recent actions against gold sellers to coerce us to not interfere with their illegal business. We also received a ransom demand from the attackers.”
It was a sticky situation for Albion Online players, as the DDoS attacks had lasted multiple days. The gold sellers’ revenge was short-lived, as the game had returned online on the Monday after the attacks, with no ransom money getting paid.
For more Albion, check this out: 5 Reasons to Play Albion Online
What’s DDoS?
For those who are unfamiliar with the term DDoS, or had probably heard of it for the first time a few weeks ago after the Albion DDoS attack, the term is an abbreviation for “Distributed Denial of Service.” Hackers attacked in an attempt to cripple online services, as they flood these services and their IP addresses with traffic from multiple outside sources. DDoS attacks can affect any website, including banking, news, and blog sites, and gaming networks. Once everything is all said and done, actual users won’t be able to open platforms or use services (i.e., denials of services).
For gamers who access online services to play a favorite MMO game, there’s little they can do when the site falls victim to a DDoS attack. The best thing to do is to play the waiting game. You may have to grin and bear it, as MMO game makers will always be working overtime to sort things out whenever their title got DDoSed and taken offline as a result.
It’s true that these things do happen. And it’s also advisable, regardless of the game you’re playing, that you check any form of payment you might have used before a DDoS attack. These attacks don’t always result in security breaches, but if they do, you want to make sure your financial information is safe, and that you take the necessary measures if a form of payment gets compromised.
For more Albion, check this out: An Overview of the Albion Online Classless System
Bringing Out the Whip
You might be wondering why the gold sellers we mentioned above had taken “revenge” on the folks at Sandbox, beyond the fact that the company was cracking down on them. There have been many speculations on the real motives behind the Albion DDoS attack, but Albion Online players mainly believe that it was a case of the sellers being upset over getting banned. On the other hand, it’s still possible to work around and trade silver since trading gold is no longer allowed.
As for Sandbox’s decision to ban these gold sellers, players mostly believe that it was an attempt on the company’s part to keep the price of entry as affordable as possible; more gold to trade, after all, means more inflation concerning the cost to enter the game. Albion Online was, in the early stages of its development, a free-to-play game, but since its release in July 2017, players need to buy starter packs, which come with a specific amount of gold with them.
Fortunately, the attack is over, and Albion Online players can take it easy. Keep your eyes open for Albion Online News.
For more Albion, check this out: The Ins and Outs of Albion’s Gold Exchange
