Sony admits utter PSN failure: your personal data has been stolen

[JoeZhang]

(This could have been in the tech sector but I think it's a bigger story than that and also plenty of people here could be impacted so I put it here)

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.

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."

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/...ailure-your-personal-data-has-been-stolen.ars


The big aspect of this to me is that Sony took almost a week to alert people of this data loss.

 

[hamudm]

WTF... This is big.

 

[lurok]

I boycotted Sony a long time ago. But if this is true, feel sorry...

 

[Robert Maxwell]

For once in my life, not owning a single current-gen console pays off!

This really sucks for everyone affected, though. And fuck Sony.

 

[JarodRussell]

And fuck Sony.

Thiefs break into a company and steal data. And who do the people blame? The company.

Hilarious.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

And fuck Sony.

Thiefs break into a company and steal data. And who do the people blame? The company.

Hilarious.

Thieves gonna thieve. Sony has a responsibility to protect its customers' data. They also have a responsibility to notify customers promptly if that data is compromised.

They did neither. This is also not the first time their "security" has proven to be an inadequate clusterfuck.

 

[JarodRussell]

Thieves gonna thieve. Sony has a responsibility to protect its customers' data.

This is the greatest bullshit excuse for criminal behavior ever.

"Your Honor, what can I say? Thieves gonna thieve. It's the bank's fault that their security system didn't withstand my ingenuity and persistency!" - "You're right. Not guilty."

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Thieves gonna thieve. Sony has a responsibility to protect its customers' data.

This is the greatest bullshit excuse for criminal behavior ever.

"Your Honor, what can I say? Thieves gonna thieve. It's the bank's fault that their security system didn't withstand my ingenuity and persistency!" - "You're right. Not guilty."

Right. It's kind of a given that the people who stole this data are criminally liable for doing so. That doesn't get Sony off the hook for their negligence, though.

It is possible to assign blame to more than one party. Try to remember that in the future and not make assumptions about things I've said.

 

[JarodRussell]

It is possible to assign blame to more than one party.

That's because blaming and finger-pointing is the easiest thing one can do.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It is possible to assign blame to more than one party.

That's because blaming and finger-pointing is the easiest thing one can do.

Your incredible insights are a service to us all.

 

[JarodRussell]

It is possible to assign blame to more than one party.

That's because blaming and finger-pointing is the easiest thing one can do.

Your incredible insights are a service to us all.

You're welcome.

 

[Candlelight]

Wow that is big. I haven't done any serious gaming in over 10 years so I'm not affected by this, but man, hope too many people on these boards aren't either.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Fortunately, I don't seem to be very affected by this. At most, I'll have to change my password and question. I foresee a big patch is the first thing many of us with a PS3 are going to end up downloading before doing anything else.

 

[Data Holmes]

Anyone think Sony could be faking it?

I mean, say the network was unstable or something. They've had all this bad press with the guy who hacked the ps3 root, and then Anonymous's antics. If they were going to take the network down anyway, they do it like this.

Makes everyone look sideways at Anon and hackers in general, and let's them do all the work under the cover of "improving protection of your data from the evil hackers".

 

[{ Emilia }]

Anyone think Sony could be faking it?

They'd be stupid if they did I think.
Being hacked generates lots of bad press and hurts the trust people have in a company.

So no, I don't really think they're faking it.

 

[Arrqh]

Makes everyone look sideways at Anon and hackers in general, and let's them do all the work under the cover of "improving protection of your data from the evil hackers".

No company would ever in their right mind falsely tell people that credit card information as stolen from them.

 

[RoJoHen]

My PS3 has had a message for the last week or so that popped up saying that "Playstation Network is undergoing maintenance." But what was weird about it was that it still worked perfectly fine. I honestly had no idea what was going on.

 

[Servo]

Anyone think Sony could be faking it?

I mean, say the network was unstable or something. They've had all this bad press with the guy who hacked the ps3 root, and then Anonymous's antics. If they were going to take the network down anyway, they do it like this.

Makes everyone look sideways at Anon and hackers in general, and let's them do all the work under the cover of "improving protection of your data from the evil hackers".

No, in fact I think the opposite is true. I think Anonymous is responsible, and they're denying involvement to try and make Sony look bad. It's pathetic and cowardly. To be expected from a bunch of e-pussies really.

As for card details, I'm not bothered. I use a card linked with an old bank account for PSN and XBL purcheses and subscriptions. There's never any money in it, and I just transfer cash from my main account whenever I need to, so anyone with my details is going to be disappointed.

And as has been pointed out; storing card/bank details on a PS3, or any other internet-enabled device is monumentally fucking stupid.

My PS3 has had a message for the last week or so that popped up saying that "Playstation Network is undergoing maintenance." But what was weird about it was that it still worked perfectly fine. I honestly had no idea what was going on.

What worked perfectly fine? I mean, I can still use the web browser and watch stuff on the BBC/C4/ITV on-demand services, but stuff like the store, Qriocity, Netflix/Lovefilm, and online gaming is off for everyone.

 

[Trekker4747]

Anyone think Sony could be faking it?

I mean, say the network was unstable or something. They've had all this bad press with the guy who hacked the ps3 root, and then Anonymous's antics. If they were going to take the network down anyway, they do it like this.

Makes everyone look sideways at Anon and hackers in general, and let's them do all the work under the cover of "improving protection of your data from the evil hackers".

Occam's razor would seem to apply here.

Either Sony crafted an masterful plan of getting "hacked", resulting the composition of clients' data so they can not only take down PSN but also make security more of a pain in the ass than it already is.

Or.

Some criminals stole something from a network that wasn't properly sealed.

I have PSN, but I'm not sure if it'd have my CCN as I don't think I've ever used it through PSN. Shit. That means I need to change my credit card just to be safe which pretty much is big cluster-fuck of pain in the ass for me to update things to whatever my new credit card number will be.

God dammit Sony!

I smell a class-action suit coming.

 

[Arrqh]

What worked perfectly fine? I mean, I can still use the web browser and watch stuff on the BBC/C4/ITV on-demand services, but stuff like the store, Qriocity, Netflix/Lovefilm, and online gaming is off for everyone.

Netflix has actually been fine, it keeps prompting you to login to PSN and then when it fails it continues as normal.