Playstation Network PWNED

[guyjin]

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

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.

In other words, Sony's security has failed in a spectacular fashion, and we're just now finding out about it. In both practical and PR terms, this is a worst-case scenario.
What did they get?

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."
What can you do?

You are warned to keep watch over your accounts, and to be aware of your heightened risk of fraud due to the security breach. "For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of e-mail, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information," the company said. "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."

Sony has also provided a wealth of sources for data and protection against identity theft.

    You may wish to visit the web site 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.

To be fair, Sony does apologize for the inconvenience. There is still no update on when service will be restored, but that is the least of your concerns if you have a PlayStation Network account. It's time to change your passwords, at the very least, and if you're like to be completely safe it's not a bad idea to cancel your credit or debit cards and request replacements.

We'll continue to follow this story as it develops.

emphasis mine.

[TheClash603]

All info seems to be compromised, Sony is just pussy footing around it.  f*cking weak, I assume I am now due for some fraud.

[Opethian]

in case anyone one missed this one ^_^

[Necromancer]

To be fair, Sony does apologize for the inconvenience.

Well as long as it's fair....  

I don't think it's all an elaborate ruse, but I won't be surprised if they use this as a reason to switch to a paid service like MS's - "your monies are paying for better security!"

[Duo_R]

You mean make it mandatory because they already offer a paid service. This actually made me never want to sign up with them. Lol.....I guess I will renew my Xbox account.

To be fair, Sony does apologize for the inconvenience.

Well as long as it's fair.... 

I don't think it's all an elaborate ruse, but I won't be surprised if they use this as a reason to switch to a paid service like MS's - "your monies are paying for better security!"

[Necromancer]

You mean make it mandatory because they already offer a paid service.

Yeah, that's what I meant (*needs more coffee*).  They'll likely keep a free service that's marginally better than MS's silver service, but most of the good stuff will require a paid program.

[_joshuaTurbo]

You mean make it mandatory because they already offer a paid service. This actually made me never want to sign up with them. Lol.....I guess I will renew my Xbox account.

renew Xbox live?  Once your sucked into that gas its near impossible to get out of renewing.  lol  The last two years in (feb '10 and '11) they've renewed my XBL year service without me really wanting it.  From what I hear, you can't just click unsubscribe either.  They have an (800) number you call to get out of it.  At least my kids are entertained with it.  And I still dig retro XBL arcade game demo's that come out every now and again.

Guess I still don't see a reason to buy the PS3, and this doesn't help.

[TheClash603]

You mean make it mandatory because they already offer a paid service. This actually made me never want to sign up with them. Lol.....I guess I will renew my Xbox account.

renew Xbox live?  Once your sucked into that gas its near impossible to get out of renewing.  lol  The last two years in (feb '10 and '11) they've renewed my XBL year service without me really wanting it.  From what I hear, you can't just click unsubscribe either.  They have an (800) number you call to get out of it.  At least my kids are entertained with it.  And I still dig retro XBL arcade game demo's that come out every now and again.

Guess I still don't see a reason to buy the PS3, and this doesn't help.

I always buy the cards for 12 month.  First, they are the same price, and actually usually cheaper because I wait for a sale.  Second, I don't have to worry about auto-renew going forward.  Anyone that is looking to get on XBL, I recommend doing it this way.

I love the congressman that said we need to get 2 years of fraud protection, paid for by Sony.  I hope that actually comes true, and we absolutely deserve it.  I put my information up there in confidence that a company like Sony could protect my shit.

[Arkhan]

I dont think the hackers are rreallllllly out to steal info.


More like out to prove a point

and possibly get jobs at Sony.


WE KNOW HOW YOU SUCK, CAN WE FIX? 50$/HR PLZ?

lol

[Duo_R]

anyone clipping their credit cards? Sony kinda says that it isn't a bad idea but I think they are just trying to cover their asses

[Joe Redifer]

I won't be surprised if they use this as a reason to switch to a paid service like MS's - "your monies are paying for better security!"

Paid/unpaid has nothing to do with it.  People who don't pay will still need to be able to buy games off of PSN.  Same thing with Xbox Live.  Thankfully I don't pay for Xbox Live, I see absolutely no reason to.  Playing games online isn't tremendously exciting and I rarely do it.

[Digi.k]

renew Xbox live?  Once your sucked into that gas its near impossible to get out of renewing.  lol  The last two years in (feb '10 and '11) they've renewed my XBL year service without me really wanting it.  From what I hear, you can't just click unsubscribe either.  They have an (800) number you call to get out of it.  At least my kids are entertained with it.  And I still dig retro XBL arcade game demo's that come out every now and again.

no sadly, best thing is to use get pre paid cards and once you've entered them on your 360 you can remove your credit card details from xbox.com or whatever country you are in without having to call up MS.

[Arkhan]

i dont care if my CC info gets jacked.  My bank protects me against that crap, so whoopdeedooo.

[guyjin]

i dont care if my CC info gets jacked.  My bank protects me against that crap, so whoopdeedooo.

the problem isn't going to be your credit card, it's going to be the dozen credit cards that identity thieves sign up for in your name.

and yeah, that info could fetch a pretty penny on the black market. I doubt this is a bunch of fanboys who hate sony for the hundreds of valid reasons to hate them.

[nectarsis]

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/30/press-release-some-playstation-network-and-qriocity-services-to-be-available-this-week/