*ren* PSN Down, Customer Info Compromised

[betan]

Encryption is not as reliable as many here think when your service needs to decrypt the data often.

Regarding the passwords though, the question is whether the stupidity of Sony reached the levels of storing the passwords in plain text or hashed. Encryption is not important compared to one-way hash function, using which you don't keep the password in a retrievable manner.

While it may seem extremely unlikely that any decent company/web service stores plain texts, lack of any mention in the PR response is seriously thought-provoking.

 

[Arwin]

What do you guys think of this, taken frim the latest Eurogamer.net article on the subject:

While it has undoubtedly been a PR disaster for the platform holder, EEDAR VP Jesse Divnich called on users to keep the situation in perspective, applauding Sony for how it has dealt with the crisis.

"To date they have gone above and beyond their legal requirements on keeping consumers informed and this is something we should all appreciate in light of these events," he said, insisting it "could have happened to anyone one."

Security breaches such as these take place frequently, he argued, and Sony had behaved responsibly in choosing to inform its customers in the manner in which it did.

"As the shift towards a cashless society continues, we must be aware that security breaches of our personal information will continue to occur and that no outlet can provide a 100 per cent guarantee on the safety of our personal information.

"What occurred on the PlayStation Network happens daily throughout the world; many of which goes unreported or unfounded and it would be naïve to think that our personal information hasn't already been compromised elsewhere.

"The only difference with the PlayStation Network's breach is Sony's good ethical standing as a corporate citizen to inform their consumers of the breach of their network."

 

[AlphaWolf]

What do you guys think of this, taken frim the latest Eurogamer.net article on the subject:

I think its a load of crap. It took them far too long to address the issue publicly and only did so after pressure. And they are actually required by law to notify people of the breach and threat to their data in many places, so none of this came from the goodness of their heart.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

Even if the people wich did this, do take a chance on doing this, after the security upgrades, it's pretty slim chance that it should be your account they did try with..
Afterall there is 77 million accounts wich might have been stolen, if worst case scenario is true, there still is safety in numbers.

Noone is going to contact 77 million people face-to-face directly, that's not realistic to expect.
Toyota didn't do that when they had floormats wich interferred with the braking system on their cars, they contacted their retailers, and media - said the car-model were recalled.

The only contact-information Sony has for you wich they are sure might be correct, is your e-mail address. You may or may not have filled in the correct address, when registering.. You did not fill in your phone number, or credit card information, with your account. So that may be false.

What Sony is doing is sending out e-mails, telling you what might have been stolen from them, and you should be carefull of what you give out, so noone gets the last remaining information.

Sony will not send you any e-mail's asking for your creditcard information, social security or similar, if that happens you are most likely beeing targetted for identity theft.

So I think it's unlikely that there is any kind of e-mail activation.
The safest thing is just to wait and see what happens when you turn on your PS3/PSP with the updated firmwares. As well as looking at your bank-account.

I did not suggest that they sould call me but contact me directly by email. I recieved it first today. Thats quite a bit to late in my book

 

[minimoke]

...While it may seem extremely unlikely that any decent company/web service stores plain texts, lack of any mention in the PR response is seriously thought-provoking.

This is probably stretching it a bit but the fact that the Sony customer care agents don't have access to user passwords i.e. They can't tell you your password over the phone maybe an indication that the passwords were hashed.

 

[Phil]

I did not suggest that they sould call me but contact me directly by email. I recieved it first today. Thats quite a bit to late in my book

As some (me included) have already pointed out - sending 77 million emails is not easy. It's not just about getting those emails out - it's also about not getting on any RBL spam lists or having your IP range blocked if suddenly a huge amount of mails originate from the same destiny. Sending a such a large amount of emails must be done in smaller batches. It's inevitable that some may receive emails a few days later than others.

 

[TrungGap]

I'm no Sony fanboy, but I think Sony is doing a good job at this. Yes, there are security lapses, but that's will happen when you're rushing to play catchup. Giving their current situation, I don't think you can expect anyone (even MS or Google) to do better. It takes time for engineering to figure out what's going on. It takes time have all these information flow to the appropriate key individual. What they have done is pretty agile for a company of their size. Have you ever move a data center? Trust me, it's not something you can do easily. It takes a lot of key individuals to align themselves and guts to make it happen.

So +1 for Sony. I'm not happy that this security breach happens, but I'm happy have with the way they reacted/responded.

 

[Shompola]

So everyone gotten their apology letter from SONY? I have not gotten one, and I am a bit worried that I registered my PSN account with now a defunt student e-mail account in the PS2 days. When did PSN go up?

 

[Xenus]

PSN started with the PSP I think.

 

[Arwin]

PSN started with the PSP I think.

I'm fairly sure it started with the PS3?

 

[Npl]

So everyone gotten their apology letter from SONY? I have not gotten one, and I am a bit worried that I registered my PSN account with now a defunt student e-mail account in the PS2 days. When did PSN go up?

You got an US account?
I think they only send out emails for US customers (so far) - atleast I only did get one for my US account (not sure I left credit information on that one) and not the EU one.

And PSN started with PS3, in fact with a PSP you could only access PSN through a PS3 for a long time.

 

[-tkf-]

I got mails from: Australia, Denmark and Japan

 

[Shompola]

Not sure what account I have and what region. I believe I did create an account on playstation.com when I got my PSP in february 2005. So my playstation.com account is not my PSN account? I have also received 19th of April an ad from PSN about Ratcher 4 for one to my current e-mail. Hopefully this means that my current e-mail address is bound to my PSN account. I am fairly certain that I do have an PSN account as I could log into PSN from my PS3. I am so confused heh.

 

[Billy Idol]

I got the email with the warning today...what took them so long?

 

[Cyan]

I think its a load of crap. It took them far too long to address the issue publicly and only did so after pressure. And they are actually required by law to notify people of the breach and threat to their data in many places, so none of this came from the goodness of their heart.

Don't make the mistake of believing that these big companies, be it either Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo, have a soul or a heart. I've seen too much and know quite a few things to begin comprehending all the nasty things these companies do, not only to customers but also to their employees.

I might have made a broad generalization, but 99% of the employees are just a number for them, not a person, let alone their customers. We are all alone inside our heads. And for these companies like part of the article of Geohotz posted here says, we are pesky customers.

Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo is basically the modern day version of the pharisees, and although somewhat declining in influence over the years, because of laws, it's still there.

I have a hard time trusting these companies like the people on the net who have friends like stars in the sky, so to say. And this comes from an exemplary customer -I never pirated a console nor the thought crossed my mind, I buy games on a regular basis, etc- like many others there are here on B3D.

If there is one thread that makes me feel better about myself and my ways, it is this one.

Not to get off-topic.... Well... The greater the size of the company, the greater the reaction is, so this issue is a 'big deal.'

I think that the greatness of the implications has been blown way out of proportion in some ways, but that doesn't mean what happened do not influence a HUGE chunk of the PSN population, because it really does. The lack of security is placing your customers in a vulnerable position where others can either harm them or devastate them economically or whatever -some people have experienced odd operations made by someone else using their credit cards, for instance, these last days.

As for those defending Sony all the time, a fanboy-ish attitude frothing at the mouth like a rabid dog isn't helping anyone. This is when when you realize that you are in an extreme minority on a particular matter...or many.

Sony should return to their old, quite old ways, lick the wounds and start anew during the next generation of consoles, because this one hasn't been their best.

It's not those companies alone. It's perhaps also a reflection of today's society. Nowadays everything is darker, more dense. Maybe it is a reflection of the society we live in. We also have wars everywhere, crisis, etc.

Not many time ago, in the 90s -which I consider my favourite decade- everything seemed more lively and positive. Anyway, I don't want to get off-topic.

 

[mrcorbo]

I'm no Sony fanboy, but I think Sony is doing a good job at this. Yes, there are security lapses, but that's will happen when you're rushing to play catchup. Giving their current situation, I don't think you can expect anyone (even MS or Google) to do better. It takes time for engineering to figure out what's going on. It takes time have all these information flow to the appropriate key individual. What they have done is pretty agile for a company of their size. Have you ever move a data center? Trust me, it's not something you can do easily. It takes a lot of key individuals to align themselves and guts to make it happen.

So +1 for Sony. I'm not happy that this security breach happens, but I'm happy have with the way they reacted/responded.

The damning fact for me is that they deemed this intrusion serious enough to shut down the network right away. At this point, issuing a notice to their customers that the network had been breached by an unknown party and that they were investigating the extent of the intrusion would have been appropriate. Instead they said nothing. I won't accept this as an appropriate reaction. You may disagree, but I expect better and hopefully most agree with me. Customer backlash is the only way that not only Sony, but all other companies will be forced to handle these situations in a more customer-focused way.

 

[mrcorbo]

Yes, and reading a PR FAQ isn't necessary for me to know how the PSN works. I'm fairly confident of my knowledge of the workings of the PSN (marketing name) vs. the information of a generalized PR release.

You should contact them and let them know that you are fairly confident the official Q&A that they are directing customers to on this issue is wrong. After all, it wouldn't be the first time that a 3rd party taught them something about their network they didn't know.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

I'm no Sony fanboy, but I think Sony is doing a good job at this. Yes, there are security lapses, but that's will happen when you're rushing to play catchup. Giving their current situation, I don't think you can expect anyone (even MS or Google) to do better. It takes time for engineering to figure out what's going on

Good Job? AGAIN a bare minimum , if your security is breached and you have sensitive customer information, you should immediately alert your customers.

While it takes some engineering to figure out what has been taken, that is irrelevant. If you know there is a risk customer info is out, and this can later be used for fraud, that is a big deal!

While you loose some face on this, the other outcome is much worse. By the looks of it, they have not obtained cc info. What if they had? In a week, you could scam a significant amount of people, and people wouldn't have been able to do anythinng.

What do you guys think of this, taken frim the latest Eurogamer.net article on the subject:

Heh i would be slamming them for not issuing the information immediately. Just like the senator.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

Don't make the mistake of believing that these big companies, be it either Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo, have a soul or a heart. I've seen too much and know quite a few things to begin comprehending all the nasty things these companies do, not only to customers but also to their employees. .

You do not need a soul or heart. All you need is to understand that your customers is by far the most vital part of your success:

Assume that CC info actually was stolen from all of us.

And that Sony did not inform us until a week after the fact, and lots of people got scammed in the meanwhile.

What do you think would happend to their customer base, and global perception?

 

[Nesh]

You do not need a soul or heart. All you need is to understand that your customers is by far the most vital part of your success:

Assume that CC info actually was stolen from all of us.

And that Sony did not inform us until a week after the fact, and lots of people got scammed in the meanwhile.

What do you think would happend to their customer base, and global perception?

Even as such that doesnt mean they wouldnt/dont go against morals when they have interests and know they wont suffer any consequences.

Now regarding why they informed the customers late, there is a possible logical explanation. When you want to communicate to the customer an issue you want to communicate it clearly and once. And to do that you have to assess the real magnitude of the problem and its nature as much as possible. Its bad practice to inform the customer about an issue, then come back to him and tell him things were actually different or worse.

If I were in their shoes I would have faced a huge dilemma