Pokémon GO servers down: Two groups claim responsibility for DDOS attack

First TechCrunch reported OurMine–which has gotten famous after hacking Twitter accounts of technology leaders like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and even Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey– claimed it was behind the DDOS attack.

OurMine put out a message on their website, saying they will attack Pokémon GO’s servers. The post on their website reads, “Today We will attack “Pokemon Go” Login Servers! so no one will be able to play this game till Pokemon Go contact us on our website to teach them how to protect it! We will attack it after 3-4 hours! Be ready! We will update you!”

In the end, the post also says staff at Pokémon GO should contact the team as ASAP.

But OurMine is not the only group claiming credit for the DDOS attack on Pokémon GO’s servers. A group called PoodleCorp also claimed credit for the attack, and put out another tweet indicating they will do something similar on August 1.

Check out their tweets below:

PokemonGo #Offline #PoodleCorp

— PoodleCorp (@PoodleCorp) July 16, 2016

August 1st #PoodleCorp #PokemonGo

— PoodleCorp (@PoodleCorp) July 18, 2016

DownDetector also has a Map running pointing out the outages for Pokémon GO based on countries.

Meanwhile Pokémon GO’s official Twitter account put out a statement, confirming server issues and said they were working on a fix. Another tweet said the issue had been fixed, although it doesn’t confirm either group’s claim of a DDoS attack.

Check out Pokémon GO’s tweets below:

Trainers! We have been working to fix the #PokemonGO server issues. Thank you for your patience. We’ll post an update soon.

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) July 16, 2016

The issues causing the server problems have been identified. Trainers should once again be able to search for Pokémon in the real world.

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) July 17, 2016

Users were also tweeting about Pokémon GO being down, with memes and jokes being shared on Twitter.

Some complained that since they can’t play Pokémon GO, they will have to actually talk to people, while others said it was now pointless to go outside. The game is being credited for encouraging people to walk as they try and capture Pokémons

Check out some of the tweets about on the game being down

#PokemonGo servers are down…..?!

Half the world right now (including myself): pic.twitter.com/9fBpYAUuxl

— Castro1021 (@Castro1021) July 16, 2016

When the servers are down and you’re just standing there with your phone like #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/9t0uTHI4QF

— Ryan Vidal (@vidal_ryan) July 17, 2016

#PokemonGo servers are down. It is once again pointless for me to go outside.

— David Lasercorn Moss (@LaserCorn) July 17, 2016

The #PokemonGO servers are down but that isn’t stopping me! pic.twitter.com/INGXNiUrQJ

— Red (@RedVacktor) July 17, 2016

Currently 😩 RT @unluckynumber11: When the #PokemonGo servers go down pic.twitter.com/KXwLViDFc7

— Mike (@BossHogGangsta) July 17, 2016

When you go outside but the #PokemonGO UK servers are down. Trip wasted pic.twitter.com/kQO2BdQpvh

— Darth Fish (@zzirFish) July 17, 2016

Why is it the second I leave the house to play the serves go down? #PokemonGO really need to get it together 😐

— Jake Edwards (@jakeftmagic) July 17, 2016

When you don’t know what to do with yourself because the #PokemonGO servers are down pic.twitter.com/xomwULGgE4

— #PokemonGo (@PokemonGoCorner) July 16, 2016

Me when #PokemonGo server down pic.twitter.com/8tP9d1UhHJ

— Dhenny A. #GoBulls (@Dhenny_A) July 16, 2016

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Pokémon GO is already one of the biggest mobile games in the US and threatens to beat Twitter, Facebook, etc when it comes to daily active users (DAUs) in the country.

Pokémon GO was recently launched in 26 more countries, mostly in Europe, as well as Canada. The game has not yet officially launched in Asia or India, although people in these places are playing the game.

Pokémon GO relies on GPS data and a smartphone’s camera to send users on a hunt for Pokémons, the magical creatures with special powers. The original Pokémon game was launched by Nintendo for GameBoy in 1996, and the anime series on Pokémon is one of the most popular across the world.

Pokémon GO’s augmented reality experience has made the game a big hit across the world, and so it is no surprising that hackers, etc are targeting its servers.