Sony Confirms Attack on PlayStation Network

[CP.AR]

nonono, i'm just claiming that the otherOS removal sparked this entire mess of things.

that being said, maybe I'm wrong - maybe whoever is responsible for hacking the servers is completely seperate from the group of people dissatisfied with the decision to axe otheros. Until someone takes full responsibility, it's all speculation

[dub.g]

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/02/so...redit-card-nu/

Following up on this morning's news that Sony Online Entertainment servers were offline across the board, Japanese newspaper Nikkei reports (via BGR) that the company has lost 12,700 customer credit card numbers as the result of an attack. The company apparently took SOE servers offline after learning of the attack last evening, but has yet to issue a statement confirming that customer information has been lost.

Of the 12,700 total, 4,300 are alleged to be from Japan, while the remainder's origins are unknown. The report also notes that most of the numbers are said to be from expired cards, which Engadget posits could mean this was simply stolen data from an old backup.

The report doesn't mention whether last night's supposed breach is connected to the recent incidents involving Sony's PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, though an SOE representative told Joystiq that official comment would be coming from the company "within the hour."

[7seven]

oh Sony

Sony under fire as 25 million more accounts breached


By Isabel Reynolds and Liana B. Baker, Reuters May 3, 2011 12:01 PM


Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/life/Sony...#ixzz1LJriQs4I

TOKYO/NEW YORK - Sony CEO Howard Stringer faced harsh criticism of his leadership after the consumer electronics conglomerate revealed hackers may have stolen the data of another 25 million accounts in a second massive security breach.

Also under growing pressure was Kazuo Hirai, the likely successor to Stringer and who had spearheaded the development of Sony's networked businesses until March, when he was promoted to the number 2 position as executive deputy president.

Sony's latest revelation came just a day after it had announced measures to avert another cyberattack like that which hit its PlayStation Network two weeks ago.

The Japanese electronics company said its Sony Online Entertainment PC games network had been hacked on April 18, but it did not find out about the breach until the early hours of Monday. It shut down the service shortly afterwards.

The breach may also have led to the theft of 10,700 direct debit records from customers in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain and 12,700 non-U.S. credit or debit card numbers, it said.

Investors said Sony and 69-year-old chief executive Stringer had botched the data security crisis, a further blow for the company which has struggled to match recent hit products from rivals including Nintendo, Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc.

"The way Sony handled the whole thing goes to show that it lacks the ability to manage crises," said Michael On, a fund manager at Beyond Asset Management in Taipei, who does not own Sony shares. "The current CEO should step down after the hacker problems and the company's failure to push out products that are competitive."

Welsh-born Stringer, a former TV producer who was knighted in 2000, has not commented on the security breach, leaving Hirai to lead a news conference and apology on Sunday. Stringer in March committed to stay in his role for the current year at least.

Hirai may not escape the fiasco unscathed, said another fund manager, who sold Sony shares last year and was not authorized to talk publicly about the company.

"The leadership of Sony is not in a good place right now, which could lead to Stringer stepping down and may sabotage Hirai's chances of succeeding as the CEO," said the Taipei-based fund manager.

DATA COMPROMISED

The attack that Sony disclosed on Monday took place a day before a massive break-in of its separate PlayStation video game network that led to the theft of data from 77 million user accounts. Sony revealed that attack last week.

The PlayStation network lets video game console owners download games and play against friends. The Sony Online Entertainment network, the victim of the latest break-in, hosts games such as "EverQuest" played over the Internet on PCs.

Sony said late on Monday that the names, addresses, emails, birthdates, phone numbers and other information from 24.6 million PC games accounts may have been stolen from its servers as well as an "outdated database" from 2007.

Sony spokeswoman Sue Tanaka, asked whether other data could be at risk, listed the precautions the company has taken such as firewalls, but added it could not be certain.

"They are hackers. We don't know where they're going to attack next," Tokyo-based Tanaka said.

Sony is trying to repair its tarnished image and reassure customers who might be pondering a shift to Microsoft's Xbox.

The PlayStation Network incident has also sparked legal action and investigations by authorities in North America and Europe, home to almost 90 per cent of the users of the network.

On Monday, Sony declined to testify in front of a U.S. congressional hearing, but agreed to respond to questions on how consumer private data is protected by businesses in a letter on Tuesday, said a spokesman for Mary Bono Mack, a Republican Congresswoman from California, who is leading the hearing.

SONY FACEBOOK GAMES DOWN

The incident that Sony disclosed on Monday also forced it to suspend its Sony Online Entertainment games on Facebook.

Sony posted a message on Facebook saying it had to take down the games during the night.

Facebook games make money from microtransactions and the sale of virtual goods like costumes and weapons.

It was not immediately clear if the data theft included data from players of Sony games including "PoxNora," "Dungeon Overlord," "Wildlife Refuge" on Facebook.

Facebook could not immediately be reached for comment.

The servers for both the Online Entertainment unit and the PlayStation Network are based in San Diego but are completely separate, said Sony's Tanaka.

Sony denied on its official PlayStation blog on Monday that hackers had tried to sell it a list of millions of credit card numbers.

The news comes less than a week after Sony alerted customers that a hacker broke into Sony's PlayStation video game network and stole names, addresses, passwords and possibly credit card numbers. Sony alerted customers a week after discovering the break-in.

Sony executives apologized on Sunday and said the company would gradually restart the PlayStation Network with increased security and would offer some free content, pleasing a number of its users.

Other users were less forgiving.

"Well, as much as I think what the hackers did was downright criminal, the fact of the matter is they have done a marvellous job of showcasing Sony's ignorance," one contributor named Tokyo Guy posted on the Engadget technology website.

"And really, the point needs to be made that if Sony is this incompetent, then they deserve to be sued and fined and lose all their money. It's pathetic."

© Copyright (c) Reuters


Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/life/Sony...#ixzz1LJrW0kCV

[Teh Doucher]

fuck i feel bad for people that have the ps3 as their only gaming unit..

[Gary Oak]

I only have a ps3 and i am pissed about this. Sony is doing a horrible job dealing with this.

[wingies]

ps3 is my only unit too, but doesnt bother me too much because i dont play online much and i dont have my cc info on psn. I do feel bad for those that got their information stolen

[tempacc]

I have ps3 and xbox, and I use my ps3 for online cause its free. Honestly I'm not mad at all, there's nothing really they can do and they obviously are trying hard to fix things and make it right. Shit happens, even coperations like sony makes mistakes. I'm just hoping for a speedier fix.
Posted via RS Mobile

[twitchyzero]

i just wanna try out some socom..that's all.

[SiRV]

I'm just slightly angry it's taking this long b/c I usually watch netflix films through my ps3... online gaming is meh.. just a nice thing to have on the side

[dub.g]

iv been using netflix, the 2nd day psn was down


when it ask u to sign in on psn on netflix, just click sign in and let it fail, if it keeps asking u after, just keep signing in, eventually it stops and lets u go through netflix

[sandbox]

when are they fixing this shit. i need my online gt5

[Jboii59]

omfg this is taking too long, i wanna play COD....

[DanHibiki]

i just got mk. come on psssssssssn

[johny]

it was the CIA that hacked Sony. they found osama's info and address.

[dark0821]

lol FUUU still no upadtes...

[Bouncing Bettys]

[jpark]

so sick of playing campaign

[Gary Oak]

three new call of duties are gonna be out by the time this is fixed.

[Neva]

might be a good idea to try and hop on this train

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/05/04...n-against-sony

Lawyers in Toronto have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Sony, seeking more than $1 billion on behalf Canadian PlayStation customers whose data may have been stolen by hackers.

It's been alleged that Sony was aware of the security breach on the accounts of some 77 million global users but didn't advise gamers until days later.

Names, addresses, e-mails, birthdays, passwords and credit and debit card information were stolen. Some one million Canadians may have been affected.
Sony has since apologized for the breach and offered free short-term memberships.

It has also advised Americans about the availability of a free credit report, but has yet to detail a similar option to Canadians, lawyers from McPhadden Samac Tuovi LLP said.

A Sony spokesperson declined comment.

The lead plaintiff in the case, Natasha Maksimovic, is a 21-year-old Mississauga, Ont., resident and avid PlayStation user.

"If you can't trust a huge multi-national corporation like Sony to protect your private information, who can you trust? It appears to me that Sony focuses more on protecting its games than its PlayStation users," she said in a media release.

Maksimovic has not noticed fraudulent activity on her credit card to date.

The lawsuit claims damages in excess of $1 billion, which includes having the company cover the costs of monitoring services and fraud insurance coverage for two years.

A lawyer working on the case said hundreds of Canadians have already signed on to the suit as participants, which has yet to be granted official class action status by a judge.

It follows a separate class action filed in the U.S. last week.

The electronic giant's chief executive Howard Stringer came under fire again Tuesday as Sony revealed hackers may have stolen data from another 25 million accounts in a second attack on its Sony Online Entertainment network.

[SkinnyPupp]

The more I hear about this, the more it seems like the hack/account theft was done solely to make sony look bad. Rather than for actual identity theft.
Posted via RS Mobile

[Tegra_Devil]

Originally Posted by Neva

might be a good idea to try and hop on this train

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/05/04...n-against-sony

woot woot money hahaha

[twitchyzero]

seems like PSN is back...i tried D/L the new firmware but it keeeps failing, i think like million + users are trying to jump on it right now overloading sony's weak servers.
only i would be the first one to report this on a saturday night

[van19]

The firmware update is just so you can change your password.
Its slowly turning back on region by region. Its up for some parts of the US incl. Cali.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/...on-begins-now/

[DanHibiki]

MK9 anyone????

[DanHibiki]

oh wtf it's not back on in canada yet?? FUUUUUUUUU