Wurm MMORPG offers 10,000 Euros reward after DDoS attack

Graham Cluley
Graham Cluley
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@gcluley

Wurm, the 3D massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), has offered a reward totalling 10,000 Euros for information which might lead to the conviction of hackers who launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against the site.

Wurm co-creator Rolf Jansson posted a status report on the website to explain Wurm Online becoming (temporarily one hopes) Wurm Offline:

Wurm offline

Shortly after todays update we were the target of a DDOS attack and our hosting provider had to pull us off the grid for now. We will be back as soon as possible but things are out of our hands since their other customers are affected. As we wrote in a previous news post we are planning on changing hosting anyways which should improve things for the future. We can offer 10 000 Euro for any tips or evidence leading to a conviction of the person responsible for this attack.

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According to an update posted on the website, the Wurm game will be offline until noon CET today.

Fans of Wurm are less than impressed with the antics of the DDoS attackers, and some have contributed to a message board thread entitled “Dear DDoS Attacker” which doesn’t mince its words…

Wurm forum post

You sir, are an arse.

I am a recent convert to Wurm and on the whole, have been thoroughly enjoying my experience. As I have only been playing a few months, I don’t have any ‘history’ with the game, I cannot claim to have been here since beta and I do not have longevity as yet. What I do have, is an enthusiasm and enjoyment, for an interesting and challenging game and little patience for tantrums such as you have displayed.

Wurm has suffered from denial-of-service attacks in the past, so it’s clear that someone either might have a grudge against the game or believe that there is an opportunity to make money by attacking it.

Online games are no strangers to being on the receiving end from DDoS attackers, who swamp a website with so much traffic that it can no longer work effectively and can be made utterly inaccessible. In the past gaming and gambling websites have often become the victims of internet blackmailers who – by launching a DDoS attack – threaten to damage an online company’s ability to generate revenue.


Graham Cluley is an award-winning keynote speaker who has given presentations around the world about cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. A veteran of the computer security industry since the early 1990s, he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows, makes regular media appearances, and is the co-host of the popular "Smashing Security" podcast. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.

One comment on “Wurm MMORPG offers 10,000 Euros reward after DDoS attack”

  1. Reality Bits

    They should start a bitcoin wallet everyone can donate into it, then when the hackers death certificate is posted the winner gets the wallet address.

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