DDoS attacks on Minecraft event crippled the internet of a European country

The series of DDoS attacks took place during a live online gaming event titled “SqiudCraft” (inspired by Netflix’s Squid Game), while the country to suffer the most is Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, a small country in Europe.

A multi-day Netflix’s Squid Game-inspired gaming tournament titled SquidCraft on Minecraft was held between January 19th to January 24th. The event was hosted by Twitch Rivals. But it impacted a small European country named Andorra in the most bizarre manner.

For your information, Twitch Rivals is an esports tournament and online competitive event featuring Twitch streamers and former pro players. Unfortunately, during the event that ended just yesterday, Andorra’s only Internet service provider (ISP) Andorra Telecom, was targeted with a series of massive DDoS attacks causing the whole country’s internet to shut down.

Reportedly, the DDoS attack happened during the tournament’s second day, when eight or more competitors got their connections disrupted simultaneously, and the country’s internet infrastructure went offline.

The internet services remained unavailable for more than 30 minutes. Due to the DDoS attacks, the hometown participants from Andorra were eliminated from the competition, and NetBlocks confirmed the attack via Twitter.

According to NetBlocks, a watchdog organization that monitors cybersecurity and cyberattacks related events globally also confirmed the attack. In a tweet, the organization said that:

Minecraft DDoS Shut Down Internet of an Entire European Country

DDoS Impacted Andorra’s Only ISP Service

Andorra Telecom is Andorra’s only internet service provider (ISP). The company suffered multiple DDoS attacks when the SquidCraft Games tournament was underway. The attacks strategically occurred during the scheduled timings of the game. As a result, more than eight Andorran streamers were eliminated from the tournament as they repeatedly disconnected.

Rumors are rife that the Minecraft DDoS attacks were launched to get the tournament’s massive $100,000 prize money. For your information, the event has been won by OllieGamerz.

Andorra’s Confirmation

Andorra Telecom took to Twitter to confirm the attack. The company’s confirmation message read:

“Please note that the network is currently undergoing a Denial Of Service (DDoS) attack. As a result, some users may find it hard to browse the web. We are handling it.”

Andorra Telecom

At the time of publishing this article, Andorra Telecom’s services were restored.

What is SquidCraft?

SquidCraft is one of the most successful Twitch Rival tournaments in cyberspace. The tournament’s name is inspired by the popular Netflix series Squid Games. However, it is played in Minecraft. Nevertheless, it is a highly anticipated tournament and a viral streaming event garnering a viewership of millions.