Derp (hacker group)

Last updated
DerpTrolling
Website Derp on Twitter

Austin Thompson, [1] known as DerpTrolling, is a hacker that was active from 2011 to 2014. [2] He largely used Twitter to coordinate distributed denial of service attacks on various high traffic websites. In December 2013 he managed to bring down large gaming sites such as League of Legends in an attempt to troll popular livestreamer PhantomL0rd. Public reaction to his presence has been generally negative, largely owing to the unclear nature of his motives.

Contents

After pleading guilty to charges of hacking in 2018, he was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, as well as being required to pay $95,000 in restitution. [1]

Attacks

Initially,[ when? ] Derp sent a few tweets using the Twitter account “DerpTrolling” to indicate that he were going to bring down the popular gaming website League of Legends. [3] his first attack however, was on a game called Quake Live. [4] Hours afterwards, many of the League of Legends game server regions in North America, Europe, and Oceania, as well as the website and Internet forums were taken down. [5] To bring down the game servers, he used an indirect attack on Riot Games' internet service provider Internap. [6] he revealed to have been targeting a popular livestreamer who goes by the name of PhantomL0rd on the streaming website Twitch. [7] Reddit summarized the report by saying that he had planned to use distributed denial of service attacks to flood traffic [8] on various high-profile gaming websites associated with PhantomL0rd, including League of Legends and Blizzard Entertainment's Battle.net. [6] According to The Escapist, the hacker also issued a threat to take down Dota 2 if PhantomL0rd were to lose his game, [9] which the hacker carried out. However, he only crashed Phantoml0rd's game, while other games in DoTA 2 were running normally.

When PhantomL0rd asked the hacker why he was attacking these sites, he responded by saying it was "for the lulz" [5] and that it was also partially out of dislike for "money-hungry companies." [10] He also persuaded PhantomL0rd into playing Club Penguin [3] while simultaneously managing to take down Electronic Arts website EA.com. [9] PhantomL0rd's personal information was leaked during the attack and released onto multiple gaming websites, in a process often referred to as doxing. This led to many fake orders of pizza arriving at his house, as well as a police raid on his house when they received reports about a hostage situation. [4] According to PhantomL0rd, at least six policemen searched through his house, [6] [9] but they only realized later that the call was fake. [11] The hacker group claimed to have additionally attacked several other Internet games and websites including World of Tanks, the North Korean news network KCNA, RuneScape, Eve Online, a Westboro Baptist Church website, the website and online servers of Minecraft, and many others. A day after the attacks, Riot Games issued a statement confirming that their League of Legends services had indeed been attacked by the hacker, though the hacker have brought their services back online. [9]

Aftermath and reaction

The news website LatinoPost criticized the attack as being "frivolous" and merely "just for attention," unlike so-called hacktivist groups. [10] VentureBeat noted that PhantomL0rd's stream was still drawing in over one hundred thousand viewers and that it is "still good for his traffic." [8] PlayStation LifeStyle stated that they believe the current problems with the PlayStation Network had more to do with the "influx of new PS4 owners and increased holiday online activity" than any effect or damage the hacker attempted on the network. [7] Editor of popular gaming news website Game Informer's Mike Futter also blamed the Twitch streaming service and PhantomL0rd for not shutting the stream immediately despite having received several warnings throughout, and that this was tantamount to playing accomplices to the crime. Varga defended himself by saying that he was merely trying to maintain a business, and that if he did not comply, DerpTrolling would have targeted another streamer. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esports</span> Form of competition using video games

Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Online game</span> Video game played over the Internet

An online game is a video game that is either partially or primarily played through the Internet or any other computer network available. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PCs, consoles and mobile devices, and span many genres, including first-person shooters, strategy games, and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG). In 2019, revenue in the online games segment reached $16.9 billion, with $4.2 billion generated by China and $3.5 billion in the United States. Since the 2010s, a common trend among online games has been to operate them as games as a service, using monetization schemes such as loot boxes and battle passes as purchasable items atop freely-offered games. Unlike purchased retail games, online games have the problem of not being permanently playable, as they require special servers in order to function.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major League Gaming</span> Professional esports organization

Major League Gaming Corp. (MLG) is a professional esports organization. MLG is headquartered in New York City, New York and was founded in 2002 by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso. MLG has held official video game tournaments throughout the United States and Canada. The Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit was a television broadcast of Halo 2 MLG tournaments in 2006 and 2007, ESPN.com, and other broadband sites. The company has also been involved in television production, and game development. MLG's aim is to elevate computer and console game tournaments to viable competitive and spectator events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anonymous (hacker group)</span> Decentralized hacktivist group

Anonymous is a decentralized international activist and hacktivist collective and movement primarily known for its various cyberattacks against several governments, government institutions and government agencies, corporations and the Church of Scientology.

<i>Dota 2</i> 2013 video game

Dota 2 is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to Defense of the Ancients (DotA), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Dota 2 is played in matches between two teams of five players, with each team occupying and defending their own separate base on the map. Each of the ten players independently controls a powerful character known as a "hero" that all have unique abilities and differing styles of play. During a match players collect experience points and items for their heroes to defeat the opposing team's heroes in player versus player combat. A team wins by being the first to destroy the other team's "Ancient", a large structure located within their base.

Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that improve over the course of a game and which contribute to the team's overall strategy. The typical objective is for each team to destroy their opponents' main structure, located at the opposite corner of the battlefield. In some MOBA games, the objective can be defeating every player on the enemy team. Players are assisted by computer-controlled units that periodically spawn in groups and march forward along set paths toward their enemy's base, which is heavily guarded by defensive structures. This type of multiplayer online video games originated as a subgenre of real-time strategy, though MOBA players usually do not construct buildings or units. Moreover, there are examples of MOBA games that are not considered real-time strategy games, such as Smite (2014), and Paragon. The genre is seen as a fusion of real-time strategy, role-playing and action games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LulzSec</span> Hacker group

LulzSec was a black hat computer hacking group that claimed responsibility for several high profile attacks, including the compromise of user accounts from PlayStation Network in 2011. The group also claimed responsibility for taking the CIA website offline. Some security professionals have commented that LulzSec has drawn attention to insecure systems and the dangers of password reuse. It has gained attention due to its high profile targets and the sarcastic messages it has posted in the aftermath of its attacks. One of the founders of LulzSec was computer security specialist Hector Monsegur, who used the online moniker Sabu. He later helped law enforcement track down other members of the organization as part of a plea deal. At least four associates of LulzSec were arrested in March 2012 as part of this investigation. Prior, British authorities had announced the arrests of two teenagers they alleged were LulzSec members, going by the pseudonyms T-flow and Topiary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twitch (service)</span> American live-streaming platform

Twitch is an American video live-streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions, in addition to offering music broadcasts, creative content, and "in real life" streams. Twitch is operated by Twitch Interactive, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. It was introduced in June 2011 as a spin-off of the general-interest streaming platform Justin.tv. Content on the site can be viewed either live or via video on demand. The games shown on Twitch's current homepage are listed according to audience preference and include genres such as real-time strategy games (RTS), fighting games, racing games, and first-person shooters.

Ryan Ackroyd, a.k.a.Kayla and also lolspoon, is a former black hat hacker who was one of the six core members of the computer hacking group "LulzSec" during its 50-day spree of attacks from 6 May 2011 until 26 June 2011. Throughout the time, Ackroyd posed as a female hacker named "Kayla" and was responsible for the penetration of multiple military and government domains and many high profile intrusions into the networks of Gawker in December 2010, HBGaryFederal in 2011, PBS, Sony, Infragard Atlanta, Fox Entertainment and others. He eventually served 30 months in prison for his hacking activities.

Hans Eli Sebastian Fors, known by the pseudonym Forsen, is a Swedish Twitch streamer who initially gained popularity for having competed in StarCraft II, but is best known for competing in Hearthstone and for streaming a variety of popular games. He is also known for his rowdy fanbase, who call themselves "Forsen Boys" or "Forsen Bajs" and have had a hand in popularizing a number of Internet memes. Since December 2018, Forsen has had over one million followers on Twitch, and as of May 2023, has more than 1.7 million followers.

<i>League of Legends</i>: Season 3 World Championship 2013 esports tournament

The Season 3 World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the third iteration of the League of Legends World Championship held by Riot Games, and the last iteration not to be formally titled after the year it took place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hafu (gamer)</span> American professional esports player and Twitch streamer

Rumay Wang, better known as Hafu, is an American Twitch streamer and former professional World of Warcraft, Bloodline Champions and Hearthstone player.

The live streaming of video games is an activity where people broadcast themselves playing games to a live audience online. The practice became popular in the mid-2010s on the US-based site Twitch, before growing to YouTube, Facebook, China-based sites Huya Live, DouYu, and Bilibili, and other services. By 2014, Twitch streams had more traffic than HBO's online streaming service, HBO Go. Professional streamers often combine high-level play and entertaining commentary, and earn income from sponsors, subscriptions, ad revenue, and donations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pokimane</span> Moroccan-Canadian streamer and YouTuber (born 1996)

Imane Anys, better known as Pokimane, is a Moroccan-Canadian internet personality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler1</span> Twitch streamer

Tyler Steinkamp, better known as Tyler1, is an American online streamer and League of Legends player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OfflineTV</span> American online media collective

OfflineTV is an online social entertainment group of content creators based in Los Angeles, California. They produce a wide range of content, from prank videos to vlogs to the housemates playing games together. The group maintains a large following on their social media platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PogChamp</span> Emote originating from Twitch

PogChamp is an emote used on the streaming platform Twitch intended to express excitement, intrigue, joy or shock. The image originally depicted streamer Ryan "Gootecks" Gutierrez with a surprised or shocked expression, which originated from a YouTube video uploaded to Gutierrez's channel, Cross Counter TV, on November 26, 2010. The original emote was added to Twitch's pool of global emotes in 2012 and was later removed in January 2021, after Gutierrez expressed support for the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Twitch responded to calls to revive the emote by alternating between several unique designs every 24 hours, each using a similar expression, and eventually allowed viewers to vote on one of these faces to become the permanent replacement during what they called "The PogChampening". Users voted for an image of a Komodo dragon, which is also the basis for the KomodoHype emote.

References

  1. 1 2 Wei, Wang (9 November 2018). "Hacker Who DDoSed Sony, EA and Steam Gaming Servers Pleads Guilty: Several Gaming Sites Shut Down In Hacker Attack". Headlines & Global News. 20854. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  2. ↑ DerpTrolling (17 October 2011). "DerpTrolling Back in Action". Twitter . 125913697641181184. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  3. 1 2 McCarthy, Tyler (31 December 2013). "League of Legends Hacked: Several Gaming Sites Shut Down In Hacker Attack". Headlines & Global News. 20854. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 Tamburro, Paul (31 December 2013). "Hacker Group 'DERP' Set Up a Police Raid on League of Legends Gamer's Home". Gaming. CraveOnline. 624103. Retrieved 1 January 2014. The hacker also shut down servers on League of Legends, Dota 2, Battle.net and Club Penguin.
  5. 1 2 Jackson, Leah B. (30 December 2013). "Hacker Group DERP Takes Down Multiple Online Gaming Servers". IGN . Retrieved 1 January 2014. League of Legends, Dota 2, Battle.net, EA.com, and Club Penguin all came under attack.
  6. 1 2 3 Haywald, Justin (30 December 2013). "Hackers take down League of Legends, EA, and Blizzard temporarily". GameSpot. 6416869. Retrieved 1 January 2014. By "hackers" we mean "people who can instigate a DDoS attack."
  7. 1 2 Moss, Sebastian (30 December 2013). "'DERP' Hacker Group Takes Down Various Online Gaming Servers "For the Lulz": League Of Legends, EA.com, Battle.net, More". PlayStation LifeStyle . Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  8. 1 2 Takahashi, Dean (31 December 2013). "Hackers attack Dota 2 and League of Legends servers in quest for one game livestreamer". VentureBeat . Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Bogos, Steve (30 December 2013). "Hackers Bring Down LoL, DoTA 2, Blizzard, EA Servers". The Escapist. 130941. Retrieved 1 January 2014. The hacker group "DERP" is attacking the servers of games played by popular Twitch streamer James "Phantoml0rd" Varga.
  10. 1 2 Lucci, Frank (31 December 2013). "Hacker Group Takes Down Game Servers 'for the Lulz'". LatinoPost. 2645. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "Hackers knock League of Legends offline". Technology. BBC News. 31 December 2013. 25559048. Retrieved 1 January 2014. Hugely popular online game League of Legends (LoL) was knocked offline for a few hours on 30 December by hackers.
  12. ↑ Futter, Mike (31 December 2013). "Opinion: Twitch And Popular Streamer Share Blame For Server Outages" (ASPX). Game Informer . Retrieved 8 January 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.