Christmas 2014 could have either been a day of joy or a day of dismay for you as a gamer. For many that got themselves a new game or even a new PS4 or Xbox One, they were unable to truly enjoy their new found gaming presents due to severe DDOS attacks. These attacks made it so that PSN and Xbox Live were both down, completely shutting off only play as well as stopping people from setting up their PSN or Xbox Live ID’s. The search has been long and hard but one of the people involved has finally been given a jail sentence.

Julius Kivimaki has now been given a suspended two year sentence in jail over in Finland for around fifty thousand counts of cyber crime. This includes harassment, fraud and data breaches. Although claiming that the attacks were made as a way of alerting Sony and Microsoft about the weaknesses in their security, the young man has been convicted in full by the government with more information of these crimes still bearing fruit. The sentence could end up being longer.

Is two years enough however? Personally I don’t think so. Kivimaki has gone to jail before and has not learned his lesson, so what will this do? If anything it would be a greater punishment to have him banned from any devices capable of accessing the internet for a two year period. That way he cannot even go back to these attacks and can be monetised if he dares to try.

To add more action to the story, former Sony Online Entertainment president and now Daybreak Games president, John Smedley, has spoken out about his thoughts on the attacker. Smedley was a victim of another case of Kivimaki as his plane was taken down due to an alleged bomb threat which proved to be false. He has even threatened that his parents should hold some responsibility for his actions and also said that he will gladly sue the Lizard Squad member for everything he has done. Do I think John is in the right? Of course I do and due to Kivimaki being of age in Finland, he can be sued for everything he owns if Mr. Smedley wishes to go ahead.

What are your thoughts on the DDOS attacker from Christmas finally getting sentenced? Has justice truly been served? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

by Dominic Coles | July 9th, 2015