* I don’t own a Playstation, and don’t really play video games as a regular pastime. But a lot of kiddies and adults do. Playstation can be networked to the Internet … yes there’s an app for that. But as in most things that serve you there has to be a server (and network) system in place to log you in (authenticate you) and take your hard earned cash so that you kick-box or flame-throw or otherwise frag your buddies online. Well the Sony Play Station Network reportedly has been hacked. So all of the little kiddies (well they’re parents anyway) and the adults that play on the station … that link to the network … have very good reason to worry, or so the media says.
Legal Troubles Heat Up For Sony After PSN Breach
Sony faces mounting legal and political headaches, but did tell PSN users that all credit card information was encrypted.
By David Daw, PCWorld Apr 27, 2011 8:19 pm
Sony’s announcement on Tuesday of the sheer scale of the security breach that forced it to shut down the PlayStation Network (PSN) is causing a firestorm of potential legal and political trouble that seems unlikely to die down any time soon. The lawsuit filed on Wednesday may very well be the first of many.
A San Francisco law firm announced the filing of the first class-action lawsuit against the company. The Rothken Law Firm filed the suit in federal court in the Northern District of California yesterday. The firm’s website said that the complaint alleges that Sony failed to take reasonable care to protect, encrypt, and secure the private and sensitive data of its users,
Sony blogged last night that PSN user credit card information given the company was encrypted.
The focus so far seems to be on Sony’s failure to disclose how severe the security breach actually was right away (While Sony brought down PSN on the 20th they didn’t reveal that customer’s personal information had been compromised until the 26th), but some security experts that PCWorld contacted think that the breach itself could be grounds for a lawsuit. “I think the other issue at play here is going to be one or more lawsuits in which gross negligence will be proven if Sony doesn’t settle out of court” says Randy Abrams, Director of Technical Education at security company ESET.
But legal problems seem to be just the tip of the iceberg for Sony. In addition to the obvious trust issues Sony will face with customers, the company is also encountering mounting regulatory problems resulting from the security breach. Members of Congress are already getting involved: Mary Bono Mack of California, chair of the House Subcommittee for Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, has opened an investigation on the matter.
(more at the link)
* PSN link: http://us.playstation.com/psn/
PlayStation®Network Service Outage
Answer ID: 2185 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:
- Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services
- Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened
- Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure by re-building 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:
(more at: http://us.playstation.com/support/answer/index.htm?a_id=2185)
See also: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/27/qa-1-for-playstation-network-and-qriocity-services/ The Playstation Blog.
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Alan Spicer
KA4UDX (Amateur Extra Class)
Alan Spicer Marine Telecom and WiFiYacht.net
communications @ marinetelecom.net
+1 954-683-3426