So you all probably know by now that Sony has had a huge problem. PSN has been hacked. I thought I would follow the trend and offer my humble opinion! PSN was hacked on the 19th of April. At the time all people knew was it had been hacked and was taken offline for a day or two. Seven days later, after almost no information, they finally sent out a release on their official blog ( blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/26/update-on-playstation-network-and-qriocity/ ) . PSN had been hacked and every users data had been accessed. From usernames and passwords, to credit card expiration dates. The only thing they did not confirm was if credit card numbers had been stolen as well.
We all know the hackers who did this are arse wipes. However, we still project our anger at Sony. Some are saying it is because they made the system so open. Well, that was possibly naive, but not really a reason to hate them. The real reason to be angry, in my opinion, is for the lack of transparency during this.
From the minute they found out there was a breach, they should have had PR people saturating every medium with up to the second information. Every games site they could find should have been sent press releases. Issuing a statement, on their blog(!), a week after the breach is just unacceptable. If nothing else, it gave the hackers a full weeks head start to start using our data. They say they wanted to be sure what had happened. This is total nonsense. A breach is a breach – they know how their systems are set up. They should have been honest and told people what MAY have happened so that they could take precautionary steps themselves.
Another question this raises is how was our data stored? Was it all plain text. They say they have our passwords? Surely they were encrypted? The info they have now is easily enough for a bit of identity theft. That’s a potential 70 Million identities!!
Also, how will the banks and credit card companies react. They could be faced with up to 70 Million people asking them to cancel their cards and put watches on their accounts!
Sony need to do some pretty fast talking. At a minimum there should be a full scale press release explaining all of this, with an apology. Also, how about a years free subscription to PSN + for everyone – with a refund to current subscribers. Also, I think that they should offer to pay for credit checks for those countries that are not able to get free checks done.
But please, don’t talk about leaving Sony. It is an empty threat and one that will damage the smaller development houses greatly. They are already suffering from this, don’t make it worse for them!
In the mean time;
- I urge you all to read the PSN FAQ us.playstation.com/support/answer/index.htm?a_id=2356
- Next, change any password that you use that is associated to the username you use with PSN, or similar usernames.
- Keep an eye on your bank account. Talk to the bank if you are unsure of what you are able to do. Same goes for Credit cards associated with PSN.