Ubisoft files lawsuit against Rainbow Six Siege DDoS attackers

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege publisher Ubisoft has filed a lawsuit against the owners of an alleged distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack website. Multiple people from across the globe are listed in the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in a California court and obtained by Polygon.

DDoS attacks in Rainbow Six Siege have been a big problem for Ubisoft. In September 2019, the developer enacted a multipronged plan to stop players that perpetuate DDoS attacks, which create lag in multiplayer matches and can crash servers. Ubisoft said it saw a 93% drop in the frequency of attacks after it shared its plan. Now it’s looking to quash the problem from the source — a group of people the company says are selling subscriptions to DDoS services.

The defendants, which allegedly operate a website called SNG.ONE, sell subscriptions for up to $299.85 for “lifetime” access to the server, according to the lawsuit; a monthly subscription costs around $30. A screenshot from the complaint showed Fortnite, FIFA 20, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 as potential targets, too.

Ubisoft says the site owners “are well aware of the harm” their services have caused the company. “Indeed, Defendants have gone out of their way to taunt and attempt to embarrass Ubisoft for the damage its services have caused to [Rainbow Six Siege],” Ubisoft lawyers write. The lawsuit points to a tweet sent by an alleged defendant:

Likewise, Ubisoft alleges the defendants created a fake “seizure” notice on their website that “falsely claimed” Microsoft and Ubisoft had taken over the website. The lawsuit says the defendants admitted they created the seizure notice “in order to get Ubisoft to admit that they have a problem,” whatever that means.

Ubisoft has asked the court to shut down the websites, and award damages and fees. Polygon has reached out to Ubisoft for more information. SNG.ONE did not return a request for comment.