LCK lays out plans to combat DDoS attacks
The Secretary General of the South Korean League of Legends league LCK, Aiden Lee, has apologised for his team's struggles to find solutions for the ongoing DDoS attacks the competition has been facing. Addressing the fans, he laid out a plan to return to a normal broadcasting schedule after the games had been forced to be played offline.
Immediate steps for recovery
The LCK leadership has acknowledged the severe impact of the DDoS attacks that began on February 25. These attacks led to the abrupt postponement of the match between T1 and FearX, among others. As a temporary measure, matches were pre-recorded and aired later than their usual timeslot.
Aiden Lee expressed an apology for the operational shortcomings, taking responsibility for not living up to its own and the fans’ expectations. "We are working with Riot Games global teams, relevant departments, and internal and external experts to analyze the cause of the attack and apply countermeasures," Lee’s statement explained.
Lee also expressed the league's intent to execute a plan towards normalization. This would include transitioning from pre-recorded broadcasts to live broadcasts without an audience, with the eventual aim being to resume normal operations.
Long-term strategies and community support
While not going into detail, possibly to not give more attack surface to the perpetrators, according to Lee, the LCK has introduced additional protective measures at LOL PARK. Lee revealed that these countermeasures have already shown effect against several attacks during the pre-recorded broadcasts that once again had been the target of another round of DDoS attacks.
Moreover, law enforcement has also been contacted, according to Lee, with the LCK executive stating that the organisation understands these attacks to be "a clear criminal act" under South Korean law.
Lee also admitted that solutions often turned into an unpredictable arms race between the attackers and their measures, stating that "when one method is blocked, they find other ways to attack so it is hard to predict what will happen in advance."
Apologising for the time it has taken to find these viable strategies, Lee argued that the implementation had required more time than anticipated, but it had been a critical step towards ensuring the security and integrity of the league. The introduction of this system is part of a broader strategy to safeguard against future DDoS attacks.
The Secretary General also called for support and encouragement from the community during this challenging period. Sharing his understanding that the complete shutdown of the LCK has had widespread negative effects on the ecosystem including the teams, players, and the wider ecosystem, Lee assured that a solution had been the LCK's priority.
He also shared that the attacks that popular streamers in the South Korean League of Legends scene had been subjected to had not been comparable to the extent that they had happened in the LCK.
