Lizard Squad: XBOX Live and PSN hacked, down on Christmas day

As expected, hackers took down Microsoft's Xbox Live and Sony's PlayStation Network on Wednesday.

The two networks were allegedly taken down by a DDOS (denial of service) attack from 'Lizard Squad', which is claiming responsibility on social media network Twitter. Just weeks ago, the hacker group had threatened to take down the networks on Christmas Day.

The hack is affecting tens of thousands of gamers who regularly access the networks on their Xbox or Playstation consoles.

The server issue has been acknowledged by Sony's "AskPlayStation' Twitter account, but the company has not confirmed whether the issue was due to a DDOS attack. The tweet reads:
"We are aware that there have been issues reported with PSN. Thanks for your patience as we investigate."

Although the PlayStation Network was able to be restored, Microsoft's Xbox Live is still down.

Although another hacker group called "The Finest Squad" managed to expose the identities of some members of the "Lizard Squad," which lead many to believe that the purported attacks will not take place over the holidays, it seems that the hacker group went forward with the attacks.

The "Lizard Squad" claimed to have taken down PSN and Xbox Live twice this month, leaving players unable to play online.