Pokemon Go Server Issues Could be DDoS Attack

Pokemon Go is awfully popular, but it seems to be so in spite of itself. I've had a lot of kind words to share about this product (which may or may not save the world), but it'd be impossible to ignore the fact that the game runs spotty at the best of times, with battles often being decided by lag and connectivity than any skill or power on a Pokemon's part. A troubled launch for a game that's already pretty bare-bones? It's kind of astonishing, when you think about it, it's enjoyed the reputation it's earned through sheer goodwill.

Well, last weekend, things were spotty, sure, but they were spottier than usual, especially in the North American area. As it turns out, that may have been more than just an unhappy coincidence: there are claims circulating around the internet that this could be a DDoS attack. Now, that in itself isn't unusual: haters gonna hate, and there is a LOT of hate for Pokemon Go circulating around the net and elsewhere, as there's a huge subset of people who don't seem to 'get it' or don't care to. What's more interesting is the CAUSE for the attack.

You see, two different groups have claimed responsibility for it: one, a group called OurMine, a trio of security-minded youths who claim to be trying to raise awareness for security issues, and will attack every weekend until Niantic agrees to talk to them about how to improve their server security. The second group, PoodleCorp, has also claimed responsibility via Twitter, although their only cause seems to be 'the lulz'.

Interestingly similar? Niantic, when contacted, refused to comment on the cause of the downtime, either because they don't want to admit it was a DDoS attack, or because both groups are lying and they're just trying to get attention. I'd believe either.

Regardless, whatever the cause for the downtime may be, it's back to normal now.  And by normal, I mean "spotty at the best of times".  Good luck catching that Vulpix.