PlayStation Network down for maintenance due to external intrusions.On April 20th 2011, Sony's PlayStation Network was severely compromised by hackers.
As a result, over 70 million PlayStation Network users have had their username, password, date of birth, E. mail address, and other information passed on to unknown hackers. People who have previously purchased one or more items from PlayStation Store may also be effected in a big way, as Sony have stated that very sensitive data, such as Debit and Credit card details, might have been also transferred to the unknown hackers. Sony have also stated that while they have no confirmation or any evidence of Debit/Credit card data being stolen, they cannot rule out the possibility of it.
For all of you who have entered sensitive data via PlayStation Store in the past, I urge you immensely to check your Debit/Credit card transactions right now - and regularly - for irregular money shifts and/or purchase transactions not authorised and/or carried out by you. If you are significantly concerned about malicious activity on your Debit/Credit cards and have the means to do so, I highly recommend that you contact your relevant banks, cancel your current cards, get new cards, and cut up and dispose of your old cards.
If you use the same (Or similar.) password on PlayStation Network as well as other services (Such as Hotmail, YouTube, etcetera.) it goes without saying that you should go to such accounts and change those passwords immediately.
There are a lot of things being said about this hacking incident, including much talk and debates regarding the level of encryption Sony used to attempt to protect personal data stored on PlayStation Network. Quite shocking to me (And many other people I would imagine.) is the fact that Sony have stated the following:
The personal data table, which is a separate data set, was not encrypted, but was, of course, behind a very sophisticated security system that was breached in a malicious attack.
I'm not sure what information the personal data table refers to, but I know that even if that sort of data was behind an un-encrypted security system, encryption simply should have been in place as well. (Especially considering that hackers are becoming more and more sophisticated and malicious - as this very notable successful hacking event clearly shows.)
For now, Sony have taken down access to their PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, and they are currently offline. An attempt to Sign in to PlayStation Network results in a message saying "PlayStation®Network is currently undergoing maintenance.".
Sony say that they are sending messages to all E. mails addresses associated to every PlayStation Network user account regarding this incident. Sony also said they are involving the police and an external security group to conduct a full investigation into what exactly happened, and to catch the individuals responsible as soon as possible. Additionally, they have said they want all people to know that they are only going to restore access to PlayStation Network when they are certain the system is secure.
All of the things I have said Sony have stated can be confirmed and found on their various
PlayStation Blog posts. If you want to keep tabs on what's going on regarding PlayStation Network, be sure to check out that blog frequently. There are some Q&A blog posts on there which may answer some burning questions you have.
So, what do you people think about this?
Do you have a PlayStation 3? Have you used PlayStation Network and PlayStation Store in the past?
Do you have an Xbox 360? Are you concerned that Xbox LIVE may be targeted next by hackers?
What do you think will happen to Sony?
What are your thoughts regarding lawsuits against Sony for failing to properly protect data?
Once again, I strongly urge you to check up on your bank accounts and other service accounts on a regular basis, if you think this unauthorised data theft may possibly effect you in any way.
If you have been effected, I hope that everything works out well.
I was surprised to not already see at least one topic regarding this on the avast! Forum, and wanted to spread the word, making sure as many people are aware of this as possible.
That's about all I have to say on this. Stay safe out there folks!
Regards,
Naean.
