Hackers claim they took down Pokemon Go servers

Did you have trouble trying to get Pokemon Go to work over the blistering hot UK weekend? You weren’t alone.

Many users struggled to access the game at various points across Friday and Saturday, and while service was largely restored on Sunday, connectivity to the game’s servers remained a little patchy.

TechCrunch reports that a hacking team going by the name of OurMine claimed to have hit the servers with a DDoS attack, preventing log ins. A message on its site claimed it would not relent until Niantic contacted them directly to address what it seemed to suggest were security flaws.

Indeed, the group argues that its entire remit is to highlight poor online security. In this instance, by stopping the fun of some 40m players in what would have been a crucial weekend for the title.

Not that OurMine was the only group claiming credit, however. Another known as Poodle Corp also reckoned its attack had bought the game to its knees.

Regardless of the cause, the game’s launch in 26 new countries surely wouldn’t have helped, either. Still, we saw lots of kids (and in one instance, workmen) roaming our home town over the weekend. Although we may allow ourselves a little gripe about how one of our number’s local village is bereft of any Pokemon Go activity while one of our city dwellers is lavished with gyms and stops and all sorts.

Server wise, things do seem to be working better at the moment.