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This OpEd was prompted by the Sony PSN outage and security breach. As a longtime Sony fan, the fact that our private information was accessed illegally, despite threats and public knowledge about unencrypted credit card data, has pushed me over the edge. That, and the fact that Jake Gaskill and I cannot continue our awesome Portal 2 co-opping.
By now you've heard about Sony's PlayStation Network security breach, and at this point it's gone well beyond hackers bringing the system down and turned into a large theft of personal information. Physical addresses, passwords, security answers, email addresses, purchase histories and credit card information has potentially been stolen for over 70 million users worldwide. Needless to say, that's a gargantuan amount of private data worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the right buyers, and a ripe target for identity theft and unauthorized credit card charges. It's a headache for users and banks alike, not to mention Sony itself.
But Sony was warned about this, and we knew months ago that it was possible.
In short, Sony got caught with their pants down around their ankles. While it's unclear exactly who exactly was responsible for this outage and breach, it has all happened in the wake of Sony's battle with Geohot, and the hacker collective Anonymous taking issue with the way Sony handled things. The end result is a service that has been down for over a week, keeping gamers from playing titles on a busy launch week that included Portal 2, SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs, and Mortal Kombat, and now Sony finally admits that personal data was accessed as well.
Sony's PlayStation 3 has had a rough time ever since it was announced back in 2005. Gamers were shocked at the high price point and initially had a hard time warming up to the system. Over the years they've removed hardware-based backwards compatibility and the ability to load another OS on the system (originally touted as a feature). The system was the butt of jokes about "massive damage" and the now infamous "Riiiiiiiidge Racer!" quote.
However, despite a shaky start, things were looking up. Sony has continually delivered exclusive titles like God of War 3, Gran Turismo 5, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Their much-touted PlayStation Network service didn't cost anything to use, and it offered free access to demos, themes, wallpapers, videos, and much more. They've since added a PSN+ paid tier that runs from $49.99 per year to $17.99 for three months and offers much of the same, but includes early access to certain titles, free games, discounts, and game trials.
With games and gamers starting to sway public opinion, even developers got in on the action. Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve, famously called the PS3 "a disaster on many levels" and said that Sony should just start over. But at last year's Sony E3 Press Conference, he changed his tune dramatically and said it was the best platform out there. With only the PlayStation 3 offering cross-platform play, and being the first system to work with Steam, it was a huge shot in the arm for Sony.
But public opinion has been swaying lately. In the wake of Geohot hacking the PlayStation 3, and posting the root keys online, Sony went after him, and all of the users who had viewed his video. They settled out of court earlier this month. This rankled the group Anonymous, and as a result they released several threats directed at Sony. That may or may not have included an attack that had the PSN "Down For Maintenance" earlier this month. In fact, it has been publically known since February that Sony sends credit card information an unencrypted format when your PS3 talks to the PSN. Why was a hole that wide allowed to remain open?
Which is another reason that we're angry. Sony knew in advance about impending attacks on their PSN service, and that data was vulnerable, yet the service was still hacked and brought to its knees. With the announcement yesterday that personal data was compromised, it makes things much worse. Adding even more fuel to that angerfire was the statement Sony issued yesterday, which stated partially:
"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 fairness, Sony told us today that they only found out themselves about the full extent of the security breach until yesterday, which is why it took so long for them to tell us. They called in an outside security firm and they performed forensic analysis. Which for some reason makes me picture Gus Grissom from CSI with a PS3 controller in one hand and a magnifying glass in the other. Still, when dealing with millions of users that have sensitive information on your system, and you detect a breach this large, as you did on April 19, you need to tell your users. Simply throwing up a "Down For Maintenance" sign doesn't cover it.
What all this means that someone out there, either a single individual or a group, has had access to all of your personal login information for at least that amount of time. This amount of data (up to 77 million users, possibly) represents a potentially huge payday for someone on the black market, not to mention the possible identity theft scenarios. So you're darn right we're angry. There's always the possibility that Sony delayed releasing this information to the public as it would impede their own investigation of the issue, but until we know that happened, it's hard not to be mad about this.
If you're wondering exactly what you should do to try and protect your other information, check out our FAQ about the breach, and the steps you can take to contain the leak. Are you willing to forgive Sony for this? Or will it take you awhile to trust them with your information again? If you remember back in 2007 when Xbox Live had issues, Microsoft ended up giving everyone the downloadable title Undertow for free. Hulu announced today that they are offering users a free week of service for the downtime. What will Sony have to do to make up for this? What do you think?
Have something to share? Have an idea for a feature you'd like to see on G4? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.
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Comments
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tdaonp
Did Sony take one for the team? http://thesecondopiniontribune .wordpress.com/2011/04/27/did- sonys-psn-take-one-for-the-tea m/
typedhurcles
what i dont get is ps3 fan people been fussing about the whole sitution but if a xbox person says anything about psn the ps3 people get so hostile about it both sysems are good but microsoft online is better cause its been around longer they are pros when it comes to online play and security i mean what is your computer running off of microsoft there good with stuff like that sony just needs a better up to date network
BATMAN 4EVER
This is what you get for not paying for online service
cwbys21
"despite threats and public knowledge about unencrypted credit card data, has pushed me over the edge"
stopped reading right there. "public knowledge" of that sort is often wrong and you get what you deserve if you believe it
dj10fld
Nintendo couldn't have chosen a better time to announce a new HD console. With M$ and Sony having the issues that it has had/has if the big N can pump out a no frills, powerful video game system with good online security they will rise to the heap in no time.
itsducey
Do what you want with your system and your games, I don't give an f about that, but mess with me, my money or my family and I will smash your face in. I use my ps3 for more than just games and bc someone wants to prove a point i'm with out my services. Be men and stop hiding behind a computer.
lowkevmic
@Designed_coma- Know what you are talking about. You're right anything can be hacked. But the difference is PSN network was never all that secure. Just like the article said Geohotz proved that on video. If you hack your xbox, the second you sign in, not only will Microsoft be notified that you have altered your xbox, but your account is instantly and completely wiped to protect any potential danger to their network.
Sony is an entertainment company. They specialize in giving people top of the line products in entertainment. Which is why the PS3 is a beast of a console. No one is arguing that. But Microsoft is a computer software company. Security, servers, applications, online experience, that's what they do. They know how to protect their network, because they've been doing this for years.
Microsoft spent as much time developing their network as they have been developing the Xbox 360. So it would be a smooth transition from your Xbox to your 360. But with a better more intuitive network. The PSN was slapped on just a few months prior to release of the Playstation, so they took no time in making sure it was secure enough to protect personal info. Any Playstaion gamer will tell you how crappy the network was for the PS2 compared to the first Xbox, there was virtually no network with PS2 either. Which is why Live accounts cost more that PSN+, because you have a more secure network, along with a much more better online experience. I challenge anyone to even dare say that PSN is better then Live, and why.
Bottom line is you get what you pay for, which is why the PSN is free. You guys can defend the Playstation 3 all day long, no one is saying that the PS3 is a bad console, at least I'm not because I own one. But there is a good reason why I have always played my PS3 offline, and only use my Xbox for online gaming. Microsoft knows what they're doing when it comes to online and software applications, and how your overall experience is more important then how cool and powerful your console is. Sony is still learning.
Gotthemall
Bottom line if they just told us what's going week ago all this drama won't happen the coverup worst then the crime
typedhurcles
idk why people blame microsoft its not there fault sony handled the whole thing the wrong way its sonys fault they should have better security i mean there is going to be hackers and you got a room of sony employes and they cant even find out how to fix it the right way its been down for a week now and there running around like chickens with there head cut off they cant be that smart honestly if you have psn you just need to switch to xbox live its way better you dont have to have a credit card and its cheaper and less glitches and less hackers
Sean5269
I think that after the security breach is taken care of Sony should give everyone free 24 hour access to download anything and everything they want from the PSN Store for free I know that will make all PSN users extremely happy :-)
TheSlowFlash
The only way they can make it up to me personally, would be to destroy George Hotz, Anon and every single person involved in this. Not five or ten years in jail, destroyed.
Ranger_assassin
What I want to know is how the hell are we suppose to change our passwords when you can't log in to change any account information...
TD_ThA_MoNsTa
Here are some things I believe Sony should do to help make up for it:
1.) Jack Tretton or Kaz Hirai need to make a sincere video apology directed to all of the PSN users affected by this, as well as explain the reasoning a bit more behind on why communication to consumers took as long as it did on informing them. Because truly, if you look at this whole issue, and not just the rage of G4 and others around you, you'd realze this is the only thing Sony truly did wrong (granted, this has been answered a bit with a recent blog update from playstation's homepage [us.playstation.com], but some are a bit lazy when it comes to reading).
2.) Give those who have Quriocity and Playstation Plus subscriptions extensions on their subscriptions (speaking as a Playstation Plus subscriber).
3.) For those who don't have Playstation Plus, offer a free 3 month trial to non-subscribers, or at least a free game download from the PS store.
4.) Some possible free PS store credit maybe?
I think all of these seem pretty likely to happen (except #4), but truly, the 1st one seems really likely. Because someone from the upper brass at Sony needs to speak to its consumers about this issue genuinely and sincerely, not just apologize in a blog post (though I'm not doubting the sincerity of their post, just feels a little disingenuine is all I'm saying).
PASSDEVILDOGG
We are just to big. Games are in the man stream ther needs to be better fire walls on all internet connects! somthing needs to be done. If not from sony from the internet copanies. Afordable fire walls or if all els free. THER NOT CHEAP. Not just kids play games. I wish i could just drive to the store to get psn cards. I would but it cost munny $5 gallon. **online how I miss you**
burnettbull
i only received an email from sony about 3-4 hrs ago. that pisses me off. way too long to be notified
IsaacInRealLife
free copy of battlefield 3... anger resolved
PASSDEVILDOGG
I was not warned i had NO IDEA that my info was at risk just until the crash did i find this out. I only wach xplay. Sony I got some???????? need answering
PASSDEVILDOGG
Sorry about my last post i scare my self some times. Some time i thank im going bonkers I NEED YOU BACK **online play** How i miss you*((( The games that geohot guy likes to hack is stuff i pay munny for. In a lot of ways its taking from us 1.sony is to blame as much as the hackers 2. not warning us by email about theas probs 3.its toyota all over agin 4. trying to fix it with not telling 5.keeping the hole thang locked down where i cant gather my merch 6.pbs cnbc 13 and none reportted on the matter if G4 is the only 1 and i have to get it all off the web. **I wish i liked internet serffin**
Stormraught
Playing Coop portal 2 all week with my friends on steam, so fun :3
PASSDEVILDOGG
THEAS GAMES THAT THEY SEEM TO LIKE HACKING AND AS WELL AS ARE I PAY FOR YOUR TAKING GAMES THAT DONT BE LONG TO THEM THIS SEEMS TO BE BIGGER THAN US A WORLD PROB CHINA IF ANY BODY REMMEBERS 16 MINS DOWN JUST ENUFF TIME TO TAKE THOSE JETS FROM US IM NOT BLIND IM SCARED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I SMELL SOMTHING FUNNY NOT GOOD
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