A California federal court ruled in favor of Rainbow Six Siege developer Ubisoft in a lawsuit earlier this month in a crucial win against denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Ubisoft launched Rainbow Six Siege six years ago in 2015. Since then, the online tactical shooter has been reconfigured for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Rainbow Six Siege made global headlines late last year after the suspect in the Ubisoft hostage situation was believed to be a Rainbow Six Siege cheater.
Rainbow Six Siege's heavy emphasis on tactical awareness and teamwork means it is still going strong for a large community of gamers. However, the title has experienced some difficulties in the last six years, especially in the form of cheating. While Ubisoft has made significant improvements in reducing the prevalence of DDoS attacks, these attacks do remain an ongoing concern for the community at large. World of Warcraft Classic, for instance, suffered a DDoS during the launch of Burning Crusade. A DDoS is a cyber-attack in which a perpetrator makes a certain software or service unavailable to its intended users. They are often employed in multiplayer games to give an unfair advantage to one team by slowing down the opposition's connection. This causes a lag that disrupts the speed of the game. The amount of time these online shortages can last ranges from temporary to indefinite.
PC Gamer reports that Ubisoft bankrolled more than $150,000 in its lawsuit against three individuals behind the hacking enterprise. The case garnered attention when Ubisoft accused the operators of the SNG.one website of providing software and services aimed at disrupting Rainbow Six Siege servers in the form of DDoS attacks. Ubisoft alleged that this was facilitated through one of their sister sites: r6s.support. After reviewing the evidence, the US District Court for the Central District of California ordered Dennis Kruk, Benjamin Ruesink and Roland-Daniel Soos to pay $153,094.04 to Ubisoft. The defendants allegedly ran several websites that profited from selling DDoS and DoS services
Ubisoft also claimed in its court filings that the defendants attempted to circumvent the allegations by explaining to its users that their websites were seized by Ubisoft and Microsoft. All of the websites have been ordered to be shut down and the domains must be handed over to Ubisoft. It is understood that the majority of the incurred costs will go towards attorney fees. The case reached its conclusion as a default judgment since the defendants refused to appear in court to dispute Ubisoft's claims. The case lasted 18 months, with Ubisoft first filing in January 2020.
This ruling represents a monumental step. Far too many online multiplayer games are held back by DDoS and DoS attacks. Not only are they unethical, on par with the hacks that prompt massive ban waves in games like Call of Duty: Warzone, but they also compromise the balance and integrity of games like Rainbow Six Siege. Hopefully, this court ruling can set a firm precedent outlining that from now on DDoS attacks will not be tolerated.
Source: PC Gamer