Daybreak Games DDoS attacker gets two years in prison

Daybreak Game Company
(Image credit: Daybreak Game Company)

A fellow by the name of Austin Thompson will spend a little more than two years in prison for his role in DDoS attacks against multiple companies in 2013-14, including MMO operator Sony Online Entertainment, now known as Daybreak Game Company. Thompson pleaded guilty to the charge of "Damage to a Protected Computer" in November 2018, and was handed his sentence yesterday.

DDoS [distributed denial of service] attacks work by flooding their targets with network traffic, disrupting the normal flow of communications and ultimately forcing them offline. Its effectiveness lies in its simplicity, and in fact it can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between a DDoS attack and an unexpected spike in legitimate traffic—just ask the FCC.

Thompson admitted to launching the attacks between December 2013 and January 2014 in the plea agreement, and to using the DerpTrolling Twitter account to announce upcoming attacks and share screens showing their results. He also acknowledged that his attacks cost at least $95,000 in damages, which he will have to pay in restitution to Daybreak.

"Denial-of-service attacks cost businesses and individuals millions of dollars annually," U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said in a statement. "We are committed to prosecuting hackers who intentionally disrupt internet access."

The exact timeline is a bit mushy, but DerpTrolling predated the better-known Lizard Squad group that caused headaches through 2014-15, which not only launched DDoS attacks against SOE, Blizzard, and others, but also placed a bomb threat that diverted the plan of Daybreak's CEO at the time, John Smedley. (There was a lot of this sort of thing going on half a decade ago—or maybe it just seems like it, because it was a more innocent time.) 

DerpTrolling also claimed credit for a November 2014 DDoS attack against Blizzard's World of Warcraft servers, and a hack of PSN, Windows Live, and 2K Games servers, but Thompson's charges weren't related to those hacks: They took place nearly a year after his confessed activities.

Thompson is scheduled to begin serving his sentence on August 23.

Thanks, Polygon.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Latest in MMO
A goblin with sharp teeth, wearing goggles, lets out a mischievous cackle in WoW's latest patch: Undermine(d).
World of Warcraft's started swiping good ideas from one of its most popular user-made UI addons, and it's honestly about time
Blue Protocol players dancing minutes before the game closes forever
What will we do at the end of the world? If MMOs are any indication: mostly what we already do, plus a lot of dancing
Several tight-wearing superheroes surge towards the camera in a heroic fashion in City of Heroes.
One year later, City of Heroes' officially recognized fan server has me praying it's the future of dead MMOs
Several adventurers in World of Warcraft Classic's hardcore server crying over the death of a fallen comrade.
Blizzard plans to revive WoW Classic Hardcore characters 'at our sole discretion', after DDOS attack puts major streamer guild OnlyFangs in the ground
A forester from Old School Runescape, contemplating life next to his pheasant friend on a green field.
You can finally try out Old School RuneScape’s first new skill in nearly two decades right now
Ghoul in sunglasses
After years of playing as stupid, boring humans in Fallout, you can finally channel your inner Walton Goggins and become a ghoul in Fallout 76
Latest in News
A screenshot from SaGa Frontier 2, showing one of the protagonists wandering through a quaint fantasy village
One of Square Enix' most underrated PlayStation-era JRPGs just shadow dropped on Steam
The titular character from Princess Mononoke is depicted riding the wolf goddess Moro and carrying a spear.
Studio Ghibli AI image trend floods social media, cheered on by OpenAI and denounced by critics as an insult to Hayao Miyazaki
Marvel Rivals tier list - Wolverine
Marvel Rivals director says a future patch will reduce the shooter's insatiable hunger for RAM: 'It's a very big problem'
Hogwarts Legacy potions professor holding a potion
An unannounced Hogwarts Legacy expansion and 'definitive edition' have reportedly been cancelled
Story of Seasons - A cahacter in a purple tuxedo stands outside in a town square talking to the player
Story of Seasons is doing another Harvest Moon remake and it might be the best the series has ever looked
Assassin's Creed Shadows change seasons - An upper-body shot of Yasuke looking cheerfully up into the distance.
Assassin's Creed Shadows puts up the 'second highest day-one sales revenue in Assassin's Creed franchise history'