PSN Service Outage

[Dragoon Knight]

[colour=#005FFF]Sony has just released an update to their blog regarding the recent, prolonged service outage to PSN. This is the service most PS3 and PSP users connect to in order to make purchases, register their console, play online multiplayer games, etc. It was recently discovered that an "outside intrusion" has potentially gained access to just about everything that people had stored on the Sony servers. This includes (to quote Sony):[/colour]

"Name, address (city, state/province, zip or postal code), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password, login, password security answers, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data may have been obtained, including purchase history and billing address (city, state/province, zip or postal code). If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, it is possible that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may also have been obtained."

[colour=#005FFF]As potentially angry about this as I may be, there'll be time for that later. Right now, Sony is encouraging everyone to be extra vigilant. Moreover, since people generally tend to use the same password on multiple sites (or variations on it), they also recommend changing password for these other sites ASAP, as well as changing your PSN password when the service is resumed.

I'm not sure how many of you on FED2k will be affected by this, but I would definitely err on the side of caution here. You can read the full blog post here (US) and here (EU). There's a FAQ here as well.[/colour]

[MrFlibble]

I thought that this would be more appropriate in the General section?

[Dragoon Knight]

[colour=#005FFF]Seeing as PlayStation is a gaming entity, and those associated with PSN will likely be gamers, it's more a Gaming issue than it is a General one.[/colour]

[Andrew]

Ouch. Sucks that they got almost all info from everyone. Wonder if/when lawsuits start.

I don't got a PS3. Glad I didn't get one yet.

link to blog update

[Dragoon Knight]

[colour=#005FFF]Think that link was one of the ones I put in my original post, correct me if I'm wrong.

And the outraged response will likely be swift and terrible. A US senator has already written an open letter to Sony America's CEO asking that compensation, insurance coverage and whatnot be offered to every affected PSN subscriber (article here). That's tens of millions of accounts; potentially nearly as many actual people.

The Data Protection Act in the UK is also pretty damning on this front. If it turns out that Sony was being in any way lax in protecting the data (e.g. relying on an unbreakable console-level security system and half-assing it on the internal encryption), then Sony become liable for any damages and compensation. The Sony lawyers are going to earn their pay these next few months.[/colour]

[Gruntlord6]

Since im from the console modding scene, thought I would share this: http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/gx6o4/im_a_moderator_over_at_psxscenecom_the_real/?limit=500

[Andrew]

[colour=#005FFF]Think that link was one of the ones I put in my original post, correct me if I'm wrong.[/colour]

Oops didn't see it.

Yah, US government people will complain and want this and that, only to try and make themselves look good (and pro american).

I think Canada has some privacy laws, so we'll see if someone does something about it.

I read that discussion last night Gruntlord. Interesting read.

You would think Sony would have all that info encrypted. Yet, barely anyone does nowadays even though it is simple. Only downside is it decreases performance.

EDIT:

I would think if they did get access to credit card info, someone would have just dumped that info into one of those credit card fraud chatrooms and we would have seen massive use of these credit cards. So far no one complaining that their credit card has been compromised.

[Gruntlord6]

Oops didn't see it.

Yah, US government people will complain and want this and that, only to try and make themselves look good (and pro american).

I think Canada has some privacy laws, so we'll see if someone does something about it.

I read that discussion last night Gruntlord. Interesting read.

You would think Sony would have all that info encrypted. Yet, barely anyone does nowadays even though it is simple. Only downside is it decreases performance.

EDIT:

I would think if they did get access to credit card info, someone would have just dumped that info into one of those credit card fraud chatrooms and we would have seen massive use of these credit cards. So far no one complaining that their credit card has been compromised.

considering sony`s idea of a random number is to always return 4, im not sure why anyone is surprised.

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

[athanasios]

Whenever I bought SONY hardware I soon regretted it. I learned my lesson and I never buy from them anymore. Let's hope that the explanation is that of Gruntlord's link.

[MrFlibble]

Wonder if/when lawsuits start.

Yeah, that had occurred to me as well. I also wonder if it was absolutely necessary to provide all of that private information to purchase games and play online.

IIRC there was an almost-scandal some time ago when Blizzard wanted to oblige their forum and Battle.net users to submit personal information. One Blizzard employee submitted their personal info to prove it was "safe", and in like several hours people dug a load of information about that person based on what was submitted. Blizzard gave up that idea then, or so I've heard.

[Gruntlord6]

Sony sent this email to my friend today:

Add PlayStation_Network@playstation-email.com to your address book

===================================

PlayStation®Network

===================================

Valued PlayStation®Network/Qriocity Customer:

We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011,

certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account

information was compromised in connection with an illegal and

unauthorized intrusion into our network. In response to this

intrusion, we have:

1) Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services;

2) Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full

and complete investigation into what happened; and

3) Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our

network infrastructure by rebuilding our system to provide you

with greater protection of your personal information.

We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill

as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and

efficiently as practicable.

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. 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. While there is no evidence at this time that credit

card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. 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.

For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email,

telephone and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive

information. 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. If you are asked for this information,

you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When the PlayStation

Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that

you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation

Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or

accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them as well.

To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we

encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and

to monitor your credit reports. We are providing the following information

for those who wish to consider it:

- U.S. residents are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually

from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order your free credit report,

visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228.

- We have also provided names and contact information for the three major U.S.

credit bureaus below. At no charge, U.S. residents can have these credit bureaus

place a "fraud alert" on your file that alerts creditors to take additional steps

to verify your identity prior to granting credit in your name. This service can

make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name. Note, however,

that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you,

it also may delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your

identity. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others

are notified to place fraud alerts on your file. Should you wish to place a

fraud alert, or should you have any questions regarding your credit report,

please contact any one of the agencies listed below:

Experian: 888-397-3742; www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

Equifax: 800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

TransUnion: 800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division,

P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

- You may wish to visit the website 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.

We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this

incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the

clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes

information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that

additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information.

Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is

our utmost priority. Please contact us at 1-800-345-7669 should you have any

additional questions.

Sincerely,

Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment

[Dragoon Knight]

[colour=#005FFF]They're sending that email to all of their subscribers. It varies slightly depending on location (i.e. US or EU), but everyone who's signed up for PSN should have one by the end of today.[/colour]

[Digital Guerrilla]

AnonOps tells Sony it was not them that hacked their network A Word from Anonymous.

The "We r L3g1on" is all over the place but this time they say it was not them. You have to love the power of the Internet.

;) I wonder if this will get negative marks on my reputation also.

[Andrew]

Details for PlayStation Network and Qriocity Customer Appreciation Program in North America

You get 2 free games! hurray!

Friend just messaged saying Steam account hacked (was only used once for 1 game 5 years ago half life 2 original).

So change your steam passwords if similar to ps3 passwords.

Use same email for lots of services (not related to ps3)? similar password? Gotta change everything.

And people were worried about CC and ps3 downtime. Wait until all these other accounts using same email/pass get hacked.