Sony V.S Hackers - Hacked Again Round 7

[Stephon.]

you guys still supporting anonymous? Or are they still saints in your eyes because they're attacking "big company"?

[GReddy23]

sony will catch these ppl & they will have to sell all their belongings to pay d fines & possible jail too ...

pm them and say hurry da fack up geezz and x2 times in getting back psn up

[iDynamic]

sony will catch these ppl & they will have to sell all their belongings to pay d fines & possible jail too ...

in the news video i posted it said they getting jailed for 10 years just for DDOS attacks

[Stephon.]

sony will catch these ppl & they will have to sell all their belongings to pay d fines & possible jail too ...

in the news video i posted it said they getting jailed for 10 years just for DDOS attacks

I hope they get caught, they won't be able to catch them all though, just the lower intelligence ones that couldn't hide themselves properly, in every group of hackers / underground etc. There's always a couple that get caught. I've seen it happen a lot of times.

[TK!]

props to the guys responsible for the hack. showed up sony for:
-the asses they are
-not encrypting our personal data
-not disclosing what happened a week ago
-not being in control of their network up to today.

sony makes a products, sells it and makes a profit. then they tell you that you are not allowed to use it how YOU want to use it. i can never support that ideology.

same story for MS, apple and a lot of other big companies. dont think for a minute they are thinking about anything other than the bottom-line. the almighty dollar.

[nareshseep]

^^ well said TK!

[~*Pãñdorą*~]

sony will catch these ppl & they will have to sell all their belongings to pay d fines & possible jail too ...

in the news video i posted it said they getting jailed for 10 years just for DDOS attacks

I hope they get caught, they won't be able to catch them all though, just the lower intelligence ones that couldn't hide themselves properly, in every group of hackers / underground etc. There's always a couple that get caught. I've seen it happen a lot of times.

Exactly how many times did you watch the movie Hackers?

[sharkman121]

sony will catch these ppl & they will have to sell all their belongings to pay d fines & possible jail too ...

in the news video i posted it said they getting jailed for 10 years just for DDOS attacks

I hope they get caught, they won't be able to catch them all though, just the lower intelligence ones that couldn't hide themselves properly, in every group of hackers / underground etc. There's always a couple that get caught. I've seen it happen a lot of times.

Exactly how many times did you watch the movie Hackers?

[Stephon.]

I've never seen the movie hackes. And @tk! no matter how safe you think your information is. You're always at a risk once you put your information out there. So don't blame Sony and stop making excuses for anonymous's illegal act.

[~*Pãñdorą*~]

I don't care about this situation.. but I must say I'm strangely drawn to Anon..
Their actions make them seem soooo sexy! Oooo.. Bad Boys!! Yum!

[Stephon.]

I don't care about this situation.. but I must say I'm strangely drawn to Anon..
Their actions make them seem soooo sexy! Oooo.. Bad Boys!! Yum!

Check ting!

[S.W 15]

Sony issues warning after PlayStation Network attack

Six days after a security breach of its PlayStation Network, Sony said Tuesday that the incursion was much worse than expected and hackers had obtained personal information on 70 million subscribers.

The company, in a blog entry posted Tuesday afternoon, added it is still unsure if the intruder also obtained credit card data for members who have that on file with the service, which provides online functionality for the PlayStation 3.

"Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID," wrote Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications for Sony Computer Entertainment America. "It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address ... and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. ... While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility."

Top Selling Video Games

Sony (SNE) says the attack has led it to begin rebuilding the system. It expects to restore some services within a week.

The company is urging subscribers to be on alert for identity theft attempts as well as email, telephone and postal scams. (Users can contact the three major U.S. credit bureaus - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion - and have their accounts put in "high alert" status for no charge.) It is also advising them to change their password when service is ultimately restored.

Sony's stock was down just one percent in after-hours trading. Analysts say they don't believe investors will punish the company substantially, given that this was an external attack and not the result of an internal error.

"Any time you have a break of fidelity like that, it's an issue," said Mike Hickey of Janco Partners. "It's pretty clear that someone has taken an illegal action to make a point. So do I hold Sony to blame for that? No. But should Sony have better security to protect their subscribers personal information? Probably."

So far, no hacker group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The rogue group known as Anonymous, which has famously launched attacks on both Gene Simmons and Hustler Magazine, was initially suspected, after it vowed in early April to target Sony after the company's legal action against a hacker who dismantled the PS3's security.

The group managed to disrupt the service with a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack earlier this month. (Anonymous attackers, using software known as "Low Orbit Ion Cannons," repeatedly pinged the company's servers. When done simultaneously by enough users, this can bring the site down - usually quickly and without warning.)

However, Anonymous denies responsibility for this incident, saying on its site, "While it could be the case that other Anons have acted by themselves, AnonOps was not related to this incident and does not take responsibility for whatever has happened."

While consumers impacted by the hack are Sony's first priority, the continued outage of the PlayStation Network is also impacting its developer partners (both internal and external).

The company released "SOCOM 4," a multiplayer focused action game that is traditionally one of its biggest franchises, last week. Additionally, the eagerly anticipated "Portal 2," which comes with a co-operative mode, also hit store shelves last week - with an integration of Valve's Steam online service into the PlayStation Network being touted as one of the chief reasons to opt for the PS3 version of the game, rather than the Xbox 360 version.

The company has reportedly vowed to help some of the game makers who are seeing their revenues dry up.

"Sony will be helping us retain key focus [PSN store promotion] for a few extra weeks as they understand how something like this can affect a small dev studio like ours," Paddy Murphy, CEO of Open Emotion, told IGN.

The outage and data breach could give Microsoft (MSFT) an advantage in the online gaming space, as its Xbox Live service has never suffered such a compromise. Unlike Microsoft, which requires a $60 annual subscription fee for access to most features of its Xbox Live service, Sony does not charge most users for access to the PlayStation Network. (A PlayStation Plus program is available, giving early access to demos, priority invitations to game beta tests and discounts on products in its online store.)

[S.W 15]

Anonymous saying that it's not them! Yeah right!

[S.W 15]

But seriously, anyone who bought games, apps etc. from them online, check your credit cards/keep an eye on it. The hackers have all that info also!

[tr1ad]

well think of it this way
they could have done it.... taken the recognition or just wasn't them because it targets the end users... which are who they stand for... freedom to hack a system that they purchased for their own private use

[S.W 15]

True true!!!

[S.W 15]

Also, even "IF" they did it, they wouldn't say cause that looking like alot of trouble! FBI and other's will be hunting them down like the first day of hunting season!

[tr1ad]

so wait... what makes FBI looking for them now different to 2 weeks ago?

[Chimera]

good thing I never buy anything with meh CC from psn yes

[MISHI]

meh I tried and kept saying card not allowed. so we'll see.

[S.W 15]

so wait... what makes FBI looking for them now different to 2 weeks ago?

Because of the credit cards info, they will be moving faster and harder to aprehend them or the people who did it! Other agencies might come into play!

[iDynamic]

Before : 1st Iphone hacker / unlocker ever


After : On the ps3 scene


Now:

[wagon r]

i already changed my email password. RBL is pretty good to spot unauthourised spending..(called me mins. after a $700 request was made @ a gas station which was to be $70), cashier error.)

plus they do monitor your spending and where....to see if it's out of pattern.

[iDynamic]

i already changed my email password. RBL is pretty good to spot unauthourised spending..(called me mins. after a $700 request was made @ a gas station which was to be $70), cashier error.)

plus they do monitor your spending and where....to see if it's out of pattern.

noicee

[redmanjp]

hmmmm, i wonder how much people locally affected by this- especially with cr. card info- maybe our local authorities should make a statement & warn people about fraudulent transactions

[evokiller]

sony culd of just said thattt for ppl to hate anon....just a thought

[Chimera]

lol sorry for the kids who sprang mammy and daddy credit card to pay for psn

[heshere2001]

Makes no sense.

Usually I would side with Anonymous because their cause is just. However this time its wtf.

Anonymous is successfully denying a service that some customers pay for (playstation+, Store etc.), the same customers that Anonymous says that they are standing up to protect from the "tyranny" that is Sony.

They are a little borked this time.

It is because of this logic that I would believe that Anonymous is not truly responsible.

[Stephon.]

sony culd of just said thattt for ppl to hate anon....just a thought

They have too much credit to lose.

Makes no sense.

Usually I would side with Anonymous because their cause is just. However this time its wtf.

Anonymous is successfully denying a service that some customers pay for (playstation+, Store etc.), the same customers that Anonymous says that they are standing up to protect from the "tyranny" that is Sony.

They are a little borked this time.

It is because of this logic that I would believe that Anonymous is not truly responsible.

na bai Sony is to blame, they aint allowin we to install windoze 7 on we ps

On a serious note, I must say that anonymous is fighting a losing battle.

[nareshseep]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011 ... ive-on.ars

The legal action between Sony and George Hotz has come to a close, with both sides seemingly happy with the results. Sony has Hotz agreeing not to do bad things to its hardware, and Hotz gets to be left alone and continue with his life. Neither side has admitted any liability in the matter, and things seemed to have worked out... for the best?

Ars Technica spoke with Yasha Heidari, one of Hotz's lawyers, who said the most important thing to take from this case is a knowledge of how large companies strong-arm their opponents when it comes to copyright issues and the DMCA, and to be aware of your rights. The best way to fight back? Don't give companies who do these things your money. The conversation was enlightening on a number of levels.

According to the settlement agreement, Hotz will not be "engaging in any unauthorized access to any SONY PRODUCT under the law," nor will he be "engaging in any unauthorized access to any SONY PRODUCT under the terms of any SCEA or SCEA AFFILIATES' license agreement or terms of use applicable to that SONY PRODUCT, whether or not Hotz has accepted such agreement or terms of use."

The terms of the agreement are listed in detail, and they essentially boil down to the fact that Hotz will not work to get around any Sony encryption, nor will he help others do so in any way. What's odd about this wording is that Hotz has agreed not to use the hardware in any unauthorized way, while Sony did not get a chance to prove that the original charges constituted unauthorized use under the DMCA. The terms used in the agreement were under contention during the case, and those issues were never settled in a legal setting. So the question of what a PS3 owner can legally do with the console she legally acquired is still an open one.

It would have been a long, expensive fight

While many people are disappointed that the case didn't result in precedent-setting vindication for Hotz, Heidari is sympathetic to the decision to settle. "It's easy for someone to stand on the sidelines and want someone else to spend the next five years fighting for something, but once you're in the fight, and you're being called 24/7 and you can't do anything without facing public scrutiny, and it's having tangible effects on your personal life, I think people think differently about it," he told Ars. "People don't remember that George is only 21, and he's fighting a multibillion dollar corporation. It's a hard fight for anyone, much less a single individual."

The other issue is that Sony was more or less silent during the case, while Hotz and his team were available for interviews, helping the press with coverage. "I'm not sure I'd say it helped the case, but that's one of the most significant things I was trying to accomplish with this case, which is to get these issues into the public light," Heidari explained. "I believe it's very important, when it comes to IP issues, to have the public discourse focus on what's taking place."

One of the things Heidari thought it was important to share was the strong-arm tactics companies like Sony use when they invoke the DMCA: seizing property, subpoenaing personal records from companies such as Google and PayPal, and even utilizing the police to invade people's homes in other countries. "Being forced to defend a lawsuit across the country is a big issue for everyone. My client had no notion he would face a legal battle in California," Heidari said. The issue is that people just click accept on online agreements or click that they agree, and suddenly they're facing legal battles across state lines.

Heidari told Ars that he sees a danger in the expansion of intellectual property laws, which were originally meant to foster the growth of original thought. "We have to ask ourselves if [copyright law is] actually promoting the arts and sciences. I believe that it's not. You have to ask yourself if society, in the end, is benefiting from people like George Hotz, prodigies and geniuses who are making creative technologies and innovations. Are there benefits from people like George being sued?" He brought up cases where companies sue people like Hotz and then try to recruit those like him or benefit from their work.

First, be aware. Second, vote with your dollar

"With the current IP laws and the DMCA, end users and consumers are the losers and will continue to be the losers until we pass some effective reforms on these subjects," Heidari said. "These lawsuits happen every day. People are dragged across the country every day. People are having to fight through interpretations of the DMCA every day." It's his belief that this will continue to happen until there is some change in the law, or a larger public outcry.

"The very first thing is to get this into the public discourse, to have people speak about it and have people learn about their rights. If people aren't talking about it and people don't know, it flies under the radar until they're sued." The next step is tricker: putting pressure on lawmakers and promoting reforms in the law, and then having customers vote with their wallets and punish companies who treat their users in ways they don't support. "That's the best way people can send a message saying they don't support a company's actions."

So who won?

Well, no one, unless you count Hotz not getting ground under Sony's boot a "win." Hotz has agreed to not do the things he claimed he never did, based on wording that was under some contention. The stipulation limits his work on Sony's hardware in a number of ways, and Sony was able to send a clear signal that it is willing and able to attack those who it feels compromise its hardware.

Neither side said uncle, but in the end George Hotz is able to walk away knowing that while he may not have wrestled the giant to the ground, he at least gave as good as he got. For a 21 year-old hacker going against a multinational corporation, that's no small thing.

For now, I hope you will join me in putting the popcorn down, if only for a moment.