The company has not said whether it received any request for payment from the attackers. Industries conducting large volumes of transactions are targets for a cottage industry of digital extortionists using DDoS attacks. These attacks have previously targeted online betting sites and payment gateways.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) can attract hundreds of thousands of subscribers, who each pay a monthly subscription fee for access to the game servers. While MMORPG credits are often measured in extra time rather than cash refunds, the games nonetheless experience a substantial cost of downtime. As of last fall, Final Fantasy XI reported more than 550,000 subscribers, who pay $12.95 a month for the game.