Gamers across multiple platforms have faced widespread service interruptions, preventing them from playing popular titles simultaneously. Cybersecurity experts suspect that a massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack orchestrated by the Aisuru botnet, which has generated record-breaking traffic, is responsible, reports Baltimore Chronicle.
Users on Downdetector reported extensive issues affecting Steam and Riot Games, two of the world’s largest gaming platforms. Players have experienced problems launching major games, including Counter-Strike, Dota 2, Valorant, League of Legends, and others. The first reports of service disruptions appeared around 8:00 PM EDT on October 6, with repeated outages occurring several times since then.
Riot Games’ status page confirmed critical connection problems across all major platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. “We are aware of an issue causing players to disconnect from their games and have temporarily disabled ranked queues while we investigate,” the official alert stated.
The outages have also affected other major platforms, including non-gaming services. More than usual reports were submitted regarding problems with PlayStation Network, Epic Games, Hulu, AWS, Xfinity, Cox, and additional services.
Although official confirmation is pending, many cybersecurity specialists attribute the disruptions to a large-scale DDoS attack likely carried out by the Aisuru botnet, considered the largest currently active. “Attackers launched a series of sophisticated TCP carpet bomb attacks designed to closely mimic legitimate traffic. This is one of the most advanced attack vectors observed, and a patch was quickly developed and deployed globally,” one cyber defender’s alert cited on Reddit stated.
Cybercrime reporter vxdb noted on X that the Aisuru botnet attack shattered previous records, reaching a bandwidth of 29.69 terabits per second (Tbps). The previous record of 22.2 Tbps, blocked by Cloudflare during a September 23 attack, was already the largest seen on the internet at that time.
First identified by XLab researchers in August 2024, the Aisuru botnet has been steadily growing and regularly breaking new records. In May, it targeted the KrebsOnSecurity blog at a data rate of 6.3 Tbps, while September attacks peaked at 11.5 Tbps. According to XLab, the botnet spreads by compromising vulnerable internet-connected devices, including A-MTK cameras, D-Link and Linksys routers, gateways, DVRs, and other hardware. Current estimates suggest it controls roughly 300,000 nodes.
The Aisuru group operates in a highly organized manner, employing advanced techniques to evade detection and maintain control of infected devices. Researchers also observed attempts to disseminate ideological content. “The Aisuru botnet has launched attacks worldwide across multiple industries. Primary targets include China, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. Attacks appear indiscriminate, affecting hundreds of targets daily,” XLab warned.
This massive cybercrime infrastructure is also reportedly being leveraged to provide proxy services.
Earlier we wrote that Apple removes ICEBlock app from app store following security concerns.
