Hackers claim another Sony attack

June 7, 2011

Hackers claimed to have staged another attack on Japanese electronics giant Sony

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Hackers claimed to have staged another attack on Japanese electronics giant Sony, publishing online a file containing source code for the Sony Computer Entertainment Developer Network.

Hackers claimed to have staged another attack on Japanese electronics giant Sony, publishing online a file containing source code for the Sony Computer Entertainment Developer Network.

The claim was made by a group of hackers known as Lulz Security, who said last week they had compromised more than one million passwords, email addresses and other information from SonyPictures.com.

"Presenting Developer Network source code," Lulz Security said in a message on its Twitter feed @LulzSec which provided a link to a 54-megabyte file.

The group also posted a link to what it said were internal network maps of music arm .

"That's hackers 16, Sony 0. Your move!" the group said in a reference to what it said was the number of cyberattacks on Sony's online networks in recent weeks.

Sony Pictures Entertainment apologized over the weekend for the personal data breach at SonyPictures.com, which features movie trailers and email updates on upcoming releases.

Sony's PlayStation Network, its Qriocity music and are among other services targeted by hackers recently.

A customer watches a monitor of Sony's videogame PlayStation 3 at a Tokyo electric shop
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File photo shows a customer watching a Sony videogame PlayStation 3 at a Tokyo electric shop. Sony's PlayStation Network, its Qriocity music streaming service and Sony Online Entertainment are among other services targeted by hackers recently.

The company has also suffered attacks on websites in Greece, Thailand and Indonesia and on the Canadian site of .

According to Sony, more than 100 million accounts have been affected, making it one of the largest data breaches ever.

In addition to the Sony attacks, Lulz Security has claimed to have stolen email addresses and passwords from associates of an FBI-affiliated security program called InfraGard.

Lulz Security said it attacked the website of the Atlanta chapter of InfraGard in retaliation for US efforts to classify hacking as an act of war.

Lulz Security published a list online of around 180 email addresses and passwords which the group said were obtained from the InfraGard website.

On its website, InfraGard describes itself as a partnership between the FBI and the private sector "dedicated to sharing information and intelligence to prevent hostile acts against the United States."

Its members include businesses, academic institutions, state and local law enforcement agencies, and others.

In late May, Lulz Security targeted the website of the US non-profit Public Broadcasting Service in retaliation for a film it made about WikiLeaks called "Frontline: Wiki Secrets."

The hackers marred PBS Web pages with graffiti, exposed account information of member stations, and posted a fake story about the late rap musician Tupac Shakur being alive in New Zealand.

(c) 2011 AFP

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Lord_jag
Jun 07, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
When will Sony stop taking peoples personal information for granted?

I wonder how long people will put up with this before canceling service.
epsi00
Jun 07, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
It's not the usual "someone is asleep at the switch", it's "everyone is asleep at the switch" or maybe even hibernating. When they wake up, the customers will be long gone. What does it take for Sony to react? This is the definition of incompetence.
CSharpner
Jun 07, 2011

Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
They're more interested in robbing grandmothers of their retirement because their grand kid downloaded a song from Grandma's house last summer when visiting.
Deadbolt
Jun 07, 2011

Rank: 1 / 5 (1)
Is it Sony's incompetence, or the hackers skills and will to do it?

No system is unbreakable. Sony may be being careless enough to not even meet the standard, of course.
CSharpner
Jun 07, 2011

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
It's Sony's incompetence. The 2nd PSN hack, after Sony spent a full month or more to rebuild their network, they hackers used the simplest of simplest of hacks... a SQL injection attack. The hackers even said something like, hey, it's not like we're claiming we're skilled here, what we did was embarrassingly simple.

Reminds me of a couple years ago when Sony secretely put SOFTWARE on their MUSIC CDs so that when LEGITIMATE customers put their legally purchased CDs into their PCs, the software automatically, and secretely installed a root kit (poorly written) on their PC that actively hid the software. The software prevented you from ripping your CDs and opened major security holes. I believe it was the sys internals guy that discovered it. Sony denied at first, but then finally admitted it when it was proven. They then offered a "fix" that required the customers to sign up for Sony spam to get it, and. It opened MORE holes. Play by THEIR rules and they hack your PC. Disgusting
J-n
Jun 07, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
Maybe the folks who did Sony's webdesign were asleep on the watch, but to store usernames and passwords in PLAIN TEXT is just short of BEGGING to have the information stolen.
Vendicar_Decarian
Jun 07, 2011

Rank: not rated yet
Rollie, oh rollie... Save us. Save SONY from this horrible torment.
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