This thread was originally about PSN being hacked in 2011, but we thought it fitting to make it a general "Oh Sony" thread to contain rants or news about Sony's war on hackers (and hackers' war on Sony).

The original OP is below.


Update 5/31/11: PSN to be back by Friday

IGN said:

Sony said today it will fully restore PlayStation Network and Qriocity services in the Americas, Europe/PAL territories and Asia - excluding Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea - by the end of this week. Service updates for Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea will be available at a later date.

Full restoration for PSN includes:

- Full functionality on PlayStation Store

- In-game commerce

- Ability to redeem vouchers and codes

- Full functionality on Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3, PSP, VAIO and other PCs

- Full functionality on Media Go
"We have been conducting additional testing and further security verification of our commerce functions in order to bring the PlayStation Network completely back online so that our fans can again enjoy the first class entertainment experience they have come to love," said Kazuo Hirai, Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation. "We appreciate the patience and support shown during this time."

End 5/31/11 Update.

Kotaku said:

A security breach in the Playstation Network by still unidentified hackers resulted in stolen personal information, Sony confirmed today.

Sony says while personal information was likely stolen they don't believe credit card numbers were and that they hope to have the Playstation Network service back up within a week.

The news comes more than nine days after the intrusion and six days after Sony shut down both the Playstation Network and Qriocity services in reaction to the breach. Sony says they've hired a "recognized security firm" to conduct a complete investigation into what happened and have taken steps to enhance security and strengthen network infrastructure.
"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," Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications for Sony Computer Entertainment of America, wrote on the official Playstation Blog today.

Among the possible information stolen:

Name
Address (city, state, zip)
Country
Email address
Birthdate
PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login and handle/PSN online ID.
"While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken," writes Seybold, "we cannot rule out the possibility."

"If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained," Seybold continues.

Sony is encouraging users to be especially aware of potential phishing scams from people using email, phone calls and mail to try and extract more personal or sensitive information from you. Sony also is strongly recommending that you change you password once you're able to log back into the Playstation Network.

"To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports," Seybold wrote

"We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority. Please contact us at 1-800-345-7669 should you have any additional questions."

Sources
Kotaku

IGN

UPDATE
Sony is being sued.

IGN said:

A class action lawsuit was filed against Sony a day after the company publicly admitted that personal information from PlayStation Network was compromised by a security breach. The lawsuit was filed by the Rothken Law Firm today in a California court and alleges Sony "failed to take reasonable care to protect, encrypt, and secure the private and sensitive data."

Yesterday, Sony said it believes an unauthorized person obtained PSN user information, including members' names, addresses, birthdays, and login passwords. The company said there was no evidence that credit card information was stolen, but did not rule out that possibility.

"We brought this lawsuit on behalf of consumers to learn the full extent of Sony PlayStation Network data security practices and the data loss and to seek a remedy for consumers. We are hopeful that Sony will take this opportunity to learn from the network vulnerabilities, provide a remedy to consumers who entrusted their sensitive data to Sony, and lead the way in data security best practices going forward," said Ira P. Rothken an attorney who filed the class action complaint.

"Sony's breach of its customers' trust is staggering. Sony promised its customers that their information would be kept private. One would think that a large multinational corporation like Sony has strong protective measures in place to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of personal information, including credit card information. Apparently, Sony doesn't," commented J.R. Parker, co-counsel in the case.

The lawsuit seeks monetary compensation for the data loss and "loss of use of the Sony PlayStation Network, credit monitoring, and other relief according to proof."

IGN has contacted Sony for comment.

Maybe I'll get $5 bucks out of all of this. Yay me.

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Zero said:

So, free games are up. I got my 4. Dead Nation and Wipeout on PS3, LittleBigPlanet and ModNation Racers on PSP. But...

My PSP games are bigger than my 1 GB memory stick pro duo. So I guess I'll have to buy a bigger one. At first I was like screw it, it's not worth it, I barely want these games anyway. But then I looked it up and I can get a 4 GB card for like 8 bucks, so I guess that is worth it for two games.

But how do you actually transfer stuff between the PS3 and PSP? Wireless?

I got Wipeout + Fury (I was missing Fury; it's awesome by the way) and Infamous for the PS3. I got Pursuit Force and I'm still thinking about my second PSP game. Remember that with PSN + you can get free games too for the duration of the trial. I got Sonic the Hedgehog 2. My dad has his account so I can get more free games on his PS3 (with permission of course). Unfortunately, I'm out of room and I can't unzip Infamous until I make some, or buy a new hard drive.

@Zero As for how to transfer your PSP games, you have to connect your PSP to your PS3 via mini your PSP connector (mini usb I think), put the PSP in connection mode, hi-light the PSP game, pres triangle and choose copy. Your internet must be on for the PS3 and PSP to authenticate. I'm talking out of memory by the way.

I'm sure I'll figure it out. Have to wait until my new memory stick arrives anyway.

I'll probably never get around to playing those games much. But hey... free! (Except I had to buy a new memory stick to play them...)

I got LittleBigPlanet and inFamous. Anyone know of any good LBP levels?

GOD CALLED IN SICK TODAY.

Oh wait, you mean on the PSP game.

No the PS3 game.

Oh. Well then the best one ever made, God Called In Sick Today.

"We want to let you know that we have detected attempts on Sony Entertainment Network, PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment ('Networks') services to test a massive set of sign-in IDs and passwords against our network database," stated security officer Philip Reitinger. "These attempts appear to include a large amount of data obtained from one or more compromised lists from other companies, sites or other sources.



So Sony seems to think these passwords and ids were hacked from other sites. Perhaps from Kotaku being hacked earlier this year? At any rate, if your account is compromised, Sony will let you know next time you sign in.

Sony removes PSP games from the PSN Store in an attempt to quell Vita piracy

They are not just unavailable for purchase: they are flat-out gone and even people who have owned the game for a long time cannot download them, with no compensation whatsoever.

Sigh. As a PSPgo owner who hasn't backed up his games, I don't like this.

On the one hand, fuck pirates and their apparently insatiable desire to play roms of NES games on new $250 tech. Fuck them for getting this started in the first place.

On the other hand, I don't think any company in the history of digital distribution has ever screwed paying customers so royally in an attempt to thwart piracy. Fuck them as well.

But fuck hackers especially. Many of them think they have the higher moral ground but they never have and never will. They can blame Sony for not protecting the Vita adequately just like a thief could blame a shop owner for not adding bars to his windows.

But just as in the Wii's case which was hacked quickly due to its GameCube compatibility, hackers are exploiting a weakness in old PSP games to achieve their ends, and I can only see one result coming from all this: companies wising up and not offering retrocompatibility anymore.

Oh Sony, you so crazy.

I heard about this. It's kind of shitty, but there is the possibility that they will repost unhackable versions. In that scenario, would the internet actually stop whining?

I think Nintendo's blocking region-free gaming on the 3DS was a really stupid decision, if only because it is prime, Grade-A hacker bait. I mean, they still would've tried, anyway, but...

Did the Wii get hacked because of GameCube compatibility? News to me. The WiiU's backwards-compatible...

@Guillaume

Ouch, that sucks! So I can't download any new PSP games anymore? (not that I was buying any more anyway, but whatevs) Still... wow.

New Forms said:

Oh Sony, you so crazy.

QFT

@GameDadGrant

No, it's just certain PSP games.

if the trend of takign down psp game continues, i may never get a vita because right now the only thing im interested on playing on it are old psp jrpgs...

It appears that they are only doing it for one or two games at a time, and it is temporary.

Still weird.

@Guillaume



@Anand

There is no such a thing as "un-hackable". Some codes may be harder to crack than others, however.

I don't know where this is going to end up. If those games come back and are "patched-up" who's to say the same thing doesn't happen to other games? Either way, I still want to get a Vita, but this does not bode well for Sony. I read somewhere that the memory cards are very expensive because they are supposed to be highly-encrypted in order to prevent piracy. Either way that's way too expensive for me. Three times as much of what I payed for my c32GB lass 4 SanDisk SD card for my 3DS.

I know Sony is probably selling the PS Vita at a loss, and that piracy was a big problem for them in the past. Either way, that is not my primary concern as a consumer. They have a product I'm interested in, and if I think the price is too much, I don't buy it. The best thing I can do is hold out and hope the lower the prices or I can get a deal.

@Tranquilo
Well, I meant that they could close the exploits and repost the games.

The high memory card price also stopped me from picking up a Vita. I wonder if that PSN gift certificate will last until the price drop...