DDoS Attacks Reportedly Behind DayZ and Arma Network Outages

An ongoing Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack has been disrupting the online experiences of players for Bohemia Interactive’s popular titles, DayZ and Arma Reforger, preventing them from enjoying the games as they would normally. The cyberattack is reportedly targeting the Czech-based video game developer’s infrastructure, causing server connectivity issues that have left players unable to access the multiplayer components of the games. Since its onset last Friday, the DDoS attack has created a significant disturbance for players, who have been unable to connect to the servers.

Bohemia Interactive is renowned for its tactical shooters, particularly the Arma series, which is known for its realistic military simulation, and DayZ, a standalone survival game that originally began as a mod for Arma 2. The attack has caused extensive disruption, affecting both the DayZ and Arma communities. Players were initially greeted with connectivity problems when trying to log into the game servers, which prevented them from joining online matches and other multiplayer activities. While the issue began to arise on Friday, it took Bohemia Interactive several days to acknowledge the severity of the problem.

Bohemia Interactive Acknowledges the Issues

On Monday, the official Twitter account of Bohemia Interactive confirmed the server connectivity problems. The company issued an apology to its community, expressing their regrets for the inconvenience and reassuring players that their teams were working diligently to address the issue. The company asked for patience as they worked toward a resolution. However, as of writing, the issues remain unresolved, leaving many frustrated players in the dark.

The lack of progress has led to increasing dissatisfaction in the player community. Bohemia Interactive’s social media accounts and community forums are flooded with complaints, with many users accusing the company of a lack of transparency regarding the situation. Some players have gone so far as to demand refunds for the inability to access the games, which they argue have been rendered unplayable due to the outages. Despite the company’s apologies, the issues remain ongoing, and the community is now questioning whether they will see any timely resolution.

Arma Platform and DayZ Community React

On Tuesday, the Arma Platform posted a brief update on their official X (formerly Twitter) account, reiterating that their team was doing everything possible to resolve the issues and restore access to the games. However, the announcement was vague, offering no specific timeline for when the problem might be resolved or what specific actions were being taken to rectify the situation. In addition, the post declined to share any further details about the nature of the attack or their ongoing efforts to combat it, fueling further frustration among the affected players.

“Although we are working tirelessly to resolve this, we cannot divulge details about the issue or the specifics of our efforts,” said the Arma Platform post, offering little to comfort those impacted by the outages. As for the gameplay itself, players have been left in a limbo. Earlier suggestions by Bohemia Interactive, such as hosting local battles with AI-controlled enemies, were deemed insufficient by the community and did little to alleviate their frustrations. Players have demanded more detailed updates about the progress of efforts to bring the servers back online.

Similarly, the DayZ community has also been experiencing issues, with the game’s functionality severely compromised by the attack. In an attempt to mitigate the damage, Bohemia Interactive set up “experimental servers” earlier this week, but these efforts have not yielded a significant improvement. One of the proposed solutions, which involved restarting community servers, was quickly retracted after it became clear that this action led to inescapable loops that worsened the situation.

In addition to the outages affecting the gameplay, Bohemia Interactive’s official website is currently down, displaying an error message that reads, “Whoops, looks like something went wrong.” This further compounds the frustration among the community, as players are unable to receive updates or troubleshoot the issue through official channels.

Ransom DDoS Attack Rumored

While Bohemia Interactive has been tight-lipped about the exact cause of the outages, there has been growing speculation within the gaming community that the disruptions are the result of a targeted DDoS attack. On online forums, Reddit users have been sharing details of the supposed attack, claiming that a group named “styled squad reborn” has taken responsibility for the ongoing issues. However, the involvement of this group remains unconfirmed, and Bohemia Interactive has yet to publicly acknowledge any specific threats or groups responsible for the disruption.

The supposed attackers have not only targeted the infrastructure of Bohemia Interactive but also shared their grievances with the gaming community. On X, the group posted a message aimed at DayZ players, accusing Bohemia of making “false promises” to the community over the years. The group’s motives appear to be tied to dissatisfaction with the company’s management and development practices, with the attackers demanding changes in both the games and the company itself.

Despite some claims that the attackers may be demanding a ransom payment to stop the attack, the group later downplayed the severity of their threat, stating that the Bitcoin demand was a joke. However, others within the community have suggested that the attack may have political or ideological motives, particularly because of the portrayal of war crimes in Bohemia Interactive’s games, which include content related to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Whether the attack is financially motivated or driven by political activism remains unclear.

The Financial Motive Theory

The possibility of a ransom DDoS attack has caught the attention of security experts and players alike. Ransom DDoS attacks typically involve threat actors launching large-scale DDoS attacks to overload a company’s servers, rendering them inoperable until the victim agrees to pay a ransom to stop the attack. However, many players and analysts remain skeptical of the ransom theory, especially given the attackers’ later claims that the demand for Bitcoin was merely a joke.

Despite these claims, the idea of financial motivation cannot be entirely ruled out, as ransom DDoS attacks have become a common tactic used by cybercriminals to extort money from businesses. If the attackers were indeed demanding a ransom, it would likely indicate a well-coordinated effort to pressure Bohemia Interactive into complying with their demands.

Hacktivism and Political Motives

Another theory that has gained traction is that the DDoS attack is the result of hacktivism, a form of cyber attack driven by political or ideological motivations. Some speculate that the attackers may be targeting Bohemia Interactive due to their depiction of war crimes in games like DayZ and the Arma series. The portrayal of sensitive political topics, such as the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, has been a point of contention for some players and may have spurred a group of hacktivists to launch the DDoS attack as a form of protest.

However, without confirmation from Bohemia Interactive or the attackers themselves, it is difficult to ascertain the true motives behind the ongoing outages.

Looking Ahead: Community Demands Transparency

As the outages persist, the frustration among the Bohemia Interactive community continues to grow. Players have increasingly voiced their displeasure at the lack of transparency regarding the situation and are demanding clear, actionable updates on the progress of resolving the issue. Refunds, more detailed explanations, and better communication have been among the key demands from the community. Until Bohemia Interactive provides more information on the cause of the outages and how they plan to fix them, players will continue to feel unsettled and anxious about the future of their favorite games.