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Lizard Squad member convicted for Christmas attacks on PSN, Xbox Live

Owen S. Good is a longtime veteran of video games writing, well known for his coverage of sports and racing games.

A Finnish teenager who claimed responsibility for the cyberattack that brought down Xbox Live and PlayStation Network last year has been convicted of more than 50,000 instances of cybercrime.

His punishment, according to Finnish media, is a two-year suspended prison sentence and a requirement to speak out against cybercrime.

Published reports said Julius Kivimaki, 17, known as "zeekill" online, was part of the Lizard Squad group whose denial-of-service attack over the Christmas holiday culminated a monthlong war with another hacker group. Lizard Squad members justified the attacks saying "chaos is entertainment," in a short email to Polygon at the time.

Both United Kingdom and Finnish authorities made arrests soon after the attacks, which were substantial enough that PlayStation Network later offered subscription extensions, purchase discounts and other premiums to compensate members for the lost time.

At the time of the January arrests, reports suggested Kivimaki faced four months to four years in prison.

The Daily Dot spoke to a victim of Kivimaki's online harrassment, who said he was "absolutely disgusted by the ruling." The victim, an American, said Kivimaki called in false threats that sent American law enforcement to his home, and demanded the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation step in.

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