Sony Corporation Breached…..TWICE…..With a Twist

Columnist(s): Shadow
Date: 5/4/11


WARNING: this article contains foul language. Opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and by no means represent the body or leadership of Anime Secrets. 

My job at Anime Secrets is to report to you guys the gaming news that goes on in our region. Do I really get to report all the gaming news out there? Of course not. That’s because I wouldn’t have time for a life, or work. I’m keen on getting you the small yet juicy nuggets that don’t get out there as well as really big news provided no one talks it to death before I get to it. Sony’s security breach was just that: talked to death before I could really sweep in on it. The problem is, Sony’s now confirmed a second breach, and here is where the fun really begins. In case you need a recap:

SNAFU= Situation Normal – All “Fouled” Up

FUBAR= “Fouled” Up Beyond All Recognition

SNAFUBAR- Situation Normal – All “Fouled” Up Beyond All Recognition

Why am I throwing two military acronyms at you and a combined one of which I am fond? Like I said earlier, here’s the recap part. The SNAFU of all of this came from the fact that a breach happened in the Sony mainframes between April 17th and April 19th. The hackers, sadly, netted during this first breach names, account names, and credit and debit card numbers. How long did it take Sony to officially notify gamers? 7 days, a whole week! Meanwhile, the media was getting constant news from Sony and even the actual briefing…..which didn’t get to gamers until several days later. That’s the FUBAR. That Sony waited that long to tell gamers their information was breached and some of it stolen (I don’t put card numbers online for several reasons, this being one of them, and so I don’t spend a ton of money being another) is a serious breach of trust in my opinion. I smell a lawsuit!

Actually, I smell a burnt lawsuit already. There was a SECOND breach, and it’s only recently being reported. Not only that, but this newly-reported breach happened two days BEFORE the breach they reported first! Sony waited two weeks to confirm this breach, and I thought that a week to confirm the first (now second I suppose) breach was bad. Someone’s getting fired by the end of the month and Sony will likely have a new PR department, Board of Directors, missing profits for a year, and a really bad position in the stock market……plus a lawsuit. Now, this is SNAFUBAR. But, it gets worse, unfortunately.

It’s not good news because not only was it a hacking breach, it just happened to net the hackers some very important information: credit card numbers, debit card numbers, expiration dates, bank account numbers, addresses, AND names for some 23,400 people. Granted, this is an old 2007 database, but considering the length of time people tend to live in a place and keep the same card and account numbers, including expiration dates and the like, it’s a problem. I think the term here is “holy #@!%.”

And just in case you’re thinking that it doesn’t matter because they don’t have the security codes, you’re wrong. Think about the last time you used your security code online to make a purchase. I know TWO online stores that ask for a security code, so that point is mostly tossed out the window already. In short, if your financial stuff was on there, well, ya lost it to a bunch of hackers that Sony couldn’t stop.

I love my PS3 and my PSP. I love having fun. But even I’m severely looking at suing Sony for screwing this up. What’s more, now that I have found out they hid a second breach for an additional week without saying a thing until today, I’m MUCH more prone to being willing to join the lawsuit to sue a new definition of pain into Sony. In advocating the safety of the gamers, I recommend buying a PSN or Xbox Live card, or whatever sort of card(s) you need for the system(s) you use, and NEVER put your financial data on your gaming system at all.

Got an opinion on this topic, especially the second breach? Send me your thoughts at ShadowWolf32387@hotmail.com. Who knows, I might get a gamers’ opinion article going and you just may land yourself in it.

 



Update: 5-5-11; forums related to the hacker groups are now claiming the launch a third attack on the Sony servers and mainframes. Before this weekend comes, it is highly recommended to remove all personal information from the Playstation Network, and likely to also begin removing information from XBox Live as we all know that someone’s going to try it. http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20060227-260.html