Playstation Network PWNED

[guyjin]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/04/sony-admits-utter-psn-failure-your-personal-data-has-been-stolen.ars

Sony has finally come clean about the "external intrusion" that has caused the company to take down the PlayStation Network service, and the news is almost as bad as it can possibly get. The hackers have all your personal information, although Sony is still unsure about whether your credit card data is safe. Everything else on file when it comes to your account is in the hands of the hackers.

In other words, Sony's security has failed in a spectacular fashion, and we're just now finding out about it. In both practical and PR terms, this is a worst-case scenario.
What did they get?

Here is the data that Sony is sure has been compromised if you have a PlayStation Network Account:

    Your name
    Your address (city, state, and zip)
    Country
    E-mail address
    Birthday
    PSN password and login name

"It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained," Sony announced. While the company claims that there is "no evidence" that credit card information has been compromised, it won't rule out the possibility.

Their advice is to be safe, rather than sorry. "If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained."
What can you do?

You are warned to keep watch over your accounts, and to be aware of your heightened risk of fraud due to the security breach. "For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of e-mail, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information," the company said. "Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information."

Sony has also provided a wealth of sources for data and protection against identity theft.

    You may wish to visit the web site of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or reach the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect yourself from identity theft. Your state Attorney General may also have advice on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General, and the FTC. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; telephone (877) 566-7226; or www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; telephone: (888) 743-0023; or www.oag.state.md.us.

To be fair, Sony does apologize for the inconvenience. There is still no update on when service will be restored, but that is the least of your concerns if you have a PlayStation Network account. It's time to change your passwords, at the very least, and if you're like to be completely safe it's not a bad idea to cancel your credit or debit cards and request replacements.

We'll continue to follow this story as it develops.

emphasis mine.

[TheClash603]

All info seems to be compromised, Sony is just pussy footing around it.  Fucking weak, I assume I am now due for some fraud.

[Opethian]

in case anyone one missed this one ^_^

[Nazi NecroPhile]

To be fair, Sony does apologize for the inconvenience.

Well as long as it's fair....  

I don't think it's all an elaborate ruse, but I won't be surprised if they use this as a reason to switch to a paid service like MS's - "your monies are paying for better security!"

[Duo_R]

You mean make it mandatory because they already offer a paid service. This actually made me never want to sign up with them. Lol.....I guess I will renew my Xbox account.

To be fair, Sony does apologize for the inconvenience.

Well as long as it's fair.... 

I don't think it's all an elaborate ruse, but I won't be surprised if they use this as a reason to switch to a paid service like MS's - "your monies are paying for better security!"

[Nazi NecroPhile]

You mean make it mandatory because they already offer a paid service.

Yeah, that's what I meant (*needs more coffee*).  They'll likely keep a free service that's marginally better than MS's silver service, but most of the good stuff will require a paid program.

[JoshTurboTrollX]

You mean make it mandatory because they already offer a paid service. This actually made me never want to sign up with them. Lol.....I guess I will renew my Xbox account.

renew Xbox live?  Once your sucked into that gas its near impossible to get out of renewing.  lol  The last two years in (feb '10 and '11) they've renewed my XBL year service without me really wanting it.  From what I hear, you can't just click unsubscribe either.  They have an (800) number you call to get out of it.  At least my kids are entertained with it.  And I still dig retro XBL arcade game demo's that come out every now and again.

Guess I still don't see a reason to buy the PS3, and this doesn't help.

[TheClash603]

You mean make it mandatory because they already offer a paid service. This actually made me never want to sign up with them. Lol.....I guess I will renew my Xbox account.

renew Xbox live?  Once your sucked into that gas its near impossible to get out of renewing.  lol  The last two years in (feb '10 and '11) they've renewed my XBL year service without me really wanting it.  From what I hear, you can't just click unsubscribe either.  They have an (800) number you call to get out of it.  At least my kids are entertained with it.  And I still dig retro XBL arcade game demo's that come out every now and again.

Guess I still don't see a reason to buy the PS3, and this doesn't help.

I always buy the cards for 12 month.  First, they are the same price, and actually usually cheaper because I wait for a sale.  Second, I don't have to worry about auto-renew going forward.  Anyone that is looking to get on XBL, I recommend doing it this way.

I love the congressman that said we need to get 2 years of fraud protection, paid for by Sony.  I hope that actually comes true, and we absolutely deserve it.  I put my information up there in confidence that a company like Sony could protect my shit.

[Arkhan Asylum]

I dont think the hackers are rreallllllly out to steal info.


More like out to prove a point

and possibly get jobs at Sony.


WE KNOW HOW YOU SUCK, CAN WE FIX? 50$/HR PLZ?

lol

[Duo_R]

anyone clipping their credit cards? Sony kinda says that it isn't a bad idea but I think they are just trying to cover their asses

[Joe Redifer]

I won't be surprised if they use this as a reason to switch to a paid service like MS's - "your monies are paying for better security!"

Paid/unpaid has nothing to do with it.  People who don't pay will still need to be able to buy games off of PSN.  Same thing with Xbox Live.  Thankfully I don't pay for Xbox Live, I see absolutely no reason to.  Playing games online isn't tremendously exciting and I rarely do it.

[Digi.k]

renew Xbox live?  Once your sucked into that gas its near impossible to get out of renewing.  lol  The last two years in (feb '10 and '11) they've renewed my XBL year service without me really wanting it.  From what I hear, you can't just click unsubscribe either.  They have an (800) number you call to get out of it.  At least my kids are entertained with it.  And I still dig retro XBL arcade game demo's that come out every now and again.

no sadly, best thing is to use get pre paid cards and once you've entered them on your 360 you can remove your credit card details from xbox.com or whatever country you are in without having to call up MS.

[Arkhan Asylum]

i dont care if my CC info gets jacked.  My bank protects me against that crap, so whoopdeedooo.

[guyjin]

i dont care if my CC info gets jacked.  My bank protects me against that crap, so whoopdeedooo.

the problem isn't going to be your credit card, it's going to be the dozen credit cards that identity thieves sign up for in your name.

and yeah, that info could fetch a pretty penny on the black market. I doubt this is a bunch of fanboys who hate sony for the hundreds of valid reasons to hate them.

[nectarsis]

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/30/press-release-some-playstation-network-and-qriocity-services-to-be-available-this-week/

[OldMan]

They're at it again. Check slashdot for details

[guyjin]

We could be looking at the beginning of the end of Sony in the videogame industry.

I have a boner you wouldn't believe.

[nectarsis]

We could be looking at the beginning of the end of Sony in the videogame industry.

I have a boner you wouldn't believe.

If it stops your irrational/CONSTANT Sony hate I'd be happy as well.

[guyjin]

We could be looking at the beginning of the end of Sony in the videogame industry.

I have a boner you wouldn't believe.

If it stops your irrational/CONSTANT Sony hate I'd be happy as well.

Everybody wins! 

[nectarsis]

We could be looking at the beginning of the end of Sony in the videogame industry.

I have a boner you wouldn't believe.

If it stops your irrational/CONSTANT Sony hate I'd be happy as well.

Everybody wins! 

And yet Earthbound will still be a steaming pile 

[JoshTurboTrollX]

lol, wait what!?

Are we talking about the same Earthbound?

[guyjin]

Nectarsis got dropped on his head as a baby. As a result, he thinks Earthbound is a bad game. 

[nectarsis]

Nectarsis got dropped on his head as a baby. As a result, he thinks Earthbound is a bad game. 

Yep..THAT'S why 

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Nectarsis got dropped on his head as a baby. As a result, he thinks Earthbound is a bad game.  

Similarly, guy was kicked in the noggin by a mule and consequently believes that all Sony games are crap. 

[nectarsis]

Nectarsis got dropped on his head as a baby. As a result, he thinks Earthbound is a bad game. 

Similarly, guy was kicked in the noggin by a mule and consequently believes that ANYTHING Sony is crap. 

Fixed that for ya ;)

[JoshTurboTrollX]

Equivalently, Necromancer grew up near power lines, therefore he doesn't realize that Sony Consoles don't have Mode 7 so, in actuality they are crap!  

[guyjin]

Nectarsis got dropped on his head as a baby. As a result, he thinks Earthbound is a bad game. 

Similarly, guy was kicked in the noggin by a mule and consequently believes that ANYTHING Sony is crap. 

Fixed that for ya ;)

Thanks for the correction

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Thanks for the correction

Even Trinitrons, Walkmans, and MD players?  Hmmmphhh, go eat some peeps!

[OldMan]

Directly from latest slashdot story:

personal information from approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts may have been stolen

We could be looking at the beginning of the end of Sony in the videogame industry.

I have a boner you wouldn't believe.

If it stops your irrational/CONSTANT Sony hate I'd be happy as well.

Everybody wins! 

Sorry. Everyone Loses ($$). Bye-Bye, sony.

[nectarsis]

Directly from latest slashdot story:

personal information from approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts may have been stolen

We could be looking at the beginning of the end of Sony in the videogame industry.

I have a boner you wouldn't believe.

If it stops your irrational/CONSTANT Sony hate I'd be happy as well.

Everybody wins! 

Sorry. Everyone Loses ($$). Bye-Bye, sony.

LOL Sony may take a (HEAVY) hit....but it's naive to think this will make them disappear.

[OldMan]

LOL Sony may take a (HEAVY) hit....but it's naive to think this will make them disappear.

Not overnight, no.

But they have lost a -lot- of good feelings over this, and if something -should- actually start happening with those stolen numbers, people are going to desert Sony like rats leaving a drowning ship.
I don't do on-line buys and stuff for just this kind of reason. Offer me a free month of your service ? No way that makes up for me spending 12 months trying to get my identity back. And that's if I'm lucky. So, no matter -what- they offer, people are gonna think twice from now on about buying anything Sony....

[I bet management really regrets removing the "other os" option now ]

[guyjin]

it's hard to predict how gamers might react to this sort of scandal; we've never had game consoles networked on this level, so this is new ground. The last big scandal in videogaming caused some congressional hearings, and created the current videogame rating system, but it didn't put anyone out of business.

There have already been lawsuits about this PSN business, and there may eventually be congressional hearings about it, but I suspect that game console networking is going to be around for the forseeable future. And, darn it to heck, sony will probably survive.

[OldMan]

There have already been lawsuits about this PSN business

And there are definately going to be more. Latest news is they got hacked because they were running an old (and I mean year+) version of apache. Sounds like 'failure to reasonably protect' that information....
I'm not a lawyer, but I wouldn't be surprised to see sony facing both civil and criminal charges over this one....

And, darn it to heck, sony will probably survive.

Dunno about that. I keep thinking about Pabst beer, when they changed the formula. They were "too big to fail", but where are they now ??? In any case, when the lawsuits really get going, their stock price is gonna drop; that means they won't have the capital to invest in the next generation, so they'll -probably- fall behind. See where that's going?

I seriously think sony's management screwed up with removing the other-os option. They were afraid of the hypervisor being hacked via linux, but ended up starting a sh*t storm. They should have recognized nothing good could come from removing promised options. And even if they manage to survive, I doubt they will be a player in the video game field. <sigh>

[_Paul]

SOE has also been hit by this, and their reputation was pretty poor to begin with (to put it mildly). Their MMO dept could suffer some severe casualties in the fallout of all this.

[Digi.k]

SOE has also been hit by this, and their reputation was pretty poor to begin with (to put it mildly). Their MMO dept could suffer some severe casualties in the fallout of all this.

yup in the daily free newspaper we get here it was reported that their security measures were last updated in 2007

[Arkhan Asylum]

SOE has also been hit by this, and their reputation was pretty poor to begin with (to put it mildly). Their MMO dept could suffer some severe casualties in the fallout of all this.

its ok the MMOs they have suck anyways.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

its ok the MMOs they have suck anyways.

Googlerin the comptents - you'll see!

[Arkhan Asylum]

its ok the MMOs they have suck anyways.

Googlerin the comptents - you'll see!

OGM I KNOE, I NED TO GOEGAL THE REVEWS.

[_Paul]

SOE has also been hit by this, and their reputation was pretty poor to begin with (to put it mildly). Their MMO dept could suffer some severe casualties in the fallout of all this.

its ok the MMOs they have suck anyways.

This is true.

[OldMan]

Update:

Sony's Shigenori Yoshida said that the company was uncertain when services would be fully functional  but that a 'plan to restart  the services' on May 31st was still in place.

Read more: http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/5/9/psn-will-be-out-until-may-31st-earliest/#ixzz1Ls9STtls

Still think sony can survive this, especially in the gaming world? Not being able to play games you -bought and paid for- for over a month is definately gonna cause problems. And remember, a lot of the newer games won't even play single player without connecting to psn.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

Still think sony can survive this, especially in the gaming world?

Yep, just like MS survived RROD; people have short memories and most will be appeased when Sony gives 'em a free game or something.  Besides, what options do people have - buy a 360 and pay for online gaming, abandon HD and go with a Wii, switch to PC, or stop playing games all together?  None of those options sounds too grand just because you can't play online for a few weeks.

[OldMan]

I understand where you're coming from, but I really think there's more to it then you say. Like a lot of people I know, I bought a ps3 -because- I could develop games on it. A year later, sony takes it away. I don't play on-line (and that's a concious choice), but since they started introducing games where you have to go on-line to play, I refuse to buy them. And now, with the network breech disclosing information I *would be required* to provide to play newer games, I'm sorry -- I will probably never buy a sony video game console or game ever again.

As for the 360, yeah Microsoft is hated by one and all. Not just for the RROD problems, or even the charges for the Xbox network games (though from what I've been told, you aren't -forced- to pay for their network; it's an 'upgrade' to standard service. Maybe things have changed recently.). But in their favor, you can develop for the 360 cheaply, RROD's got fixed promptly (and the warrentee was extended) and you know Microsoft can afford to fix things when they go wrong. Heck, I'm not even sure they ever made it into the black on the 360 yet

As for PC's and the wii....Not really a factor. Though if Nintendo takes a chance and creates a better Wii2, they might take the next round Personally, I think a lot of people are gonna be wondering if it's worth the risk to play on-line. If anyone does anything with the stolen info, a lot of people are probably just gonna decide it's not worth it, and drag out their old consoles when they want to play games

Also, keep in mind, it's not -just- that you can't play on-line for a few weeks. There's also the simple fact that now you have to worry about someone mis-using your personal credit info. Which is going to reduce to the simple thought of "No, johnny, you can't use my credit card. Sony can't be trusted to keep that info safe." for a -lot- of parents....


Just for the record: I actually liked the ps1 and ps2. Still play them quite a bit. My ps3...not so much. I'll probably just sell it to my friend who's 'borrowing' it now. Haven't missed it yet

[Arkhan Asylum]

Update:

Sony's Shigenori Yoshida said that the company was uncertain when services would be fully functional  but that a 'plan to restart  the services' on May 31st was still in place.

Read more: http://www.thinq.co.uk/2011/5/9/psn-will-be-out-until-may-31st-earliest/#ixzz1Ls9STtls

Still think sony can survive this, especially in the gaming world? Not being able to play games you -bought and paid for- for over a month is definately gonna cause problems. And remember, a lot of the newer games won't even play single player without connecting to psn.

Im sure itll be fine.  the service is free, save a few things (DC universe online).   PSN+ subscribers may get some sort of compensation (an extra month before renewal?)... but as a whole, I don't think it will be as destructive as people think.

Most PS3 games that are single player will work offline.  My PS3 hasn't been plugged in to a network for awhile.  If the game needs an update, its usually included on the disc.

I haven't run into a game that wont work during this whole downtime.

[nectarsis]

I see people are STILL ignoring the fact that Sony is also giving users FREE access to credit monitoring/identity theft protection services. 

From comments I see many places yes some people are wary/dropping Sony, yet theres  just as many/more eagerly awaiting the return of the PSN.

[nectarsis]

There have already been lawsuits about this PSN business

And there are definately going to be more. Latest news is they got hacked because they were running an old (and I mean year+) version of apache. Sounds like 'failure to reasonably protect' that information....
I'm not a lawyer, but I wouldn't be surprised to see sony facing both civil and criminal charges over this one....

And, darn it to heck, sony will probably survive.

Dunno about that. I keep thinking about Pabst beer, when they changed the formula. They were "too big to fail", but where are they now ??? In any case, when the lawsuits really get going, their stock price is gonna drop; that means they won't have the capital to invest in the next generation, so they'll -probably- fall behind. See where that's going?

I seriously think sony's management screwed up with removing the other-os option. They were afraid of the hypervisor being hacked via linux, but ended up starting a sh*t storm. They should have recognized nothing good could come from removing promised options. And even if they manage to survive, I doubt they will be a player in the video game field. <sigh>

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/09/report-sonys-psn-servers-were-up-to-date/

2nd hand, unverified information be damned ;)

[OldMan]

2nd hand, unverified information be damned ;)

I stand corrected. (Though I read that more than one place before I posted it; apparently all the news sources were using the same <wrong> source).

Sony is also giving users FREE access to credit monitoring/identity theft protection services.

Which is a good first step. If the service is any good. I still suspect that you are going to have to do a lot of work if someone -does- use your info for nefarious purposes to get it all cleared up. I believe (but do not know) that the service only notifies you of the problem.

I still think sony is not coming back for the next round of the console wars

[OldRover]

Sony isn't dropping out yet. They already have their next console in the works, as does Nintendo. The only company I've heard no news about in terms of "new machine" is Microsoft, but that could also be because their current machine is competent enough to stand up to anything ole cheapskates Nintendo or Sony will introduce in the next generation. With all the money on R&D they poured into the PS3, it's amazing that it's barely on-par with Microsoft's same-gen console that came out much earlier. I may dislike Microsoft's war machine business mentality, but I've gotta give them credit for not only developing kickass game machines but also keeping things cheap for independents. Neither Sony nor Nintendo can hold a candle to this.

But anyways... don't count Sony out just yet. They still have over nine billion US dollars in cash assets alone, let alone the more than US$200 billion in total assets. They can afford to absorb the losses and come back stronger. And like also said in this thread, people will forget... and that's because the common person is a twat with the memory of a mosquito.

[Senshi]

I still think sony is not coming back for the next round of the console wars

I hope you are wrong. This company has set the bar on hardware and quality of their library in my opinion. Sorry, if all I have to look forward to is what nintendo and microsoft put out as far as consoles and gaming library then i'll probably be out of modern gaming all together. Those two companies will start to put out such crap because of the lack of competition from a "high end" system maker. I don't think the xbox 360 is any better than the PS3. I've read and heard from way to many people I know who have had problems, and had to replace or just not play their xbox 360. They had to remake the console for crying out loud. If any body is in trouble its Nintendo. This is their core business as far as I know. Microsoft and Sony can absorb hits to their cash flow more so than nintendo i'll bet.

[OldRover]

Sony set the bar for hardware quality? ...really? I don't think so. Both Sony and Nintendo make huge cuts whenever they can get away with it... the difference is that Nintendo's cuts are always a lot more obvious. The PS3 and the Xbox 360 are on-par on a technical level... that comes not only from machine specs but also from the experience of developers who have worked on both systems... in fact, one such guy I know (he's a programmer for a software house in GB) says that the Xbox 360 is a much more capable machine simply because the PS3 had a lot of stupid design decisions... higher quality by default isn't really a "fair" factor but it's certainly a factor.

I will give you the software quality observation though... not even Nintendo fanboys can argue that one. Sony's own studios develop quality titles, and their third parties tend to produce some solid titles. There's a reason I own a PS2 and not the other systems of that generation, and that's because Sony's software lineup was superior at the time (and still is).

[JoshTurboTrollX]

I'm confused, if someone really wanted to get out there and play their games online, couldn't they just jump ship over to the 360 side?  I mean its pretty much the same system with more people to play online, and more games right?  Anything that is worth playing online with a PS3 is available on the 360.