Sony Constantly Hacked, Reasons?

[Rydian]

Sony Constantly Hacked, Reasons?
Speculation on the reasoning.

Ever since the Playstation Network was hacked it seems Sony's had one incident after another. A Sony-owned ISP had an incident where virtual currency was stolen and e-mails were accessed, then it was found that somebody was running a phishing site on Sony's servers. The latest confirmed news is that Sony's Greek and Japanese music servers were compromised as well. The groups behind these attacks all seem different, so the question is what's causing so many successful attacks?

One assumption is standard hacker curiosity, but these incidents often expose personal data of Sony's customers or involve personal gain for the hacker. Revenge is a possible reason, as Sony's actions in recent years (such as removing OtherOS from the PS3) have angered many people. It could simply be the "in" thing to do right now, which is backed up by statements left by various perpetrators. A rising theory is that Sony is not as secure as it would appear to be, and given the simple (almost amateur) mistakes that lead to each incident this theory is gaining traction.

Which of these theories do you believe?
Do you have supporting or negating evidence?
Do you have your own theory you'd like to discuss?

To discuss an individual hacking incident, please click it's link in the main paragraph.
To discuss the reasoning behind the hacking in general, please click the "On-Going Discussion" link.[/p]

On-going Discussion

 

[Snailface]

Streisand effect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

 

[CrimzonEyed]

1. Bad with updates?
2. Greedy because they didn't want to update because that would need the employers to learn a ton of new stuff.
3. Revenge.
4. Haters gona hate.
5. Limited the possibility to install other OS:es.
6. "We are loved and no one would ever want or try hack us (

)" (thoughts of the higher ups in sony?)

 

[rock7]

There are many people who hates sony

 

[TheDarkSeed]

Here's a theory that just popped into my head. Maybe other hackers saw what Anonymous did and how they were successful in their DDoS and figured they'd try out some attacks on sony to test them.

If these are different people attacking, then I'm also guessing they have different motives.

Also: http://gbatemp.net/index.php?act=findpost&pid=3663220

 

[Nathan Drake]

Streisand effect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

I don't think this quite fits the bill here. Although Sony has been trying their hardest to privatize information, hackers that make it a point to get through high security aren't exactly an innocent body making unimportant information public. Sony hasn't been purposefully attracting the attention here like Streisand did with her ridiculous case. It just doesn't match here.

The main problem lies in the fact that the first people who hacked the PSN initially opened up a gateway for other hackers. The first that harmfully hacked the PS3 showed other hackers that Sony was hackable. Saying that Sony doesn't do a good enough job doesn't cut it at this point. Even the Pentagon, one of the most secure buildings in the US electronically, has people that are able to easily slip through the high defenses. The short of it here, is that anybody can be hacked, no matter how secure the system. I can't think of a system in the world that is unhackable. There are always those that know their way in.

I think this is more exploitation of Sony's current vulnerabilities. Upon taking George Hotz to court, Sony inadvertently opened a can of worms. That in itself is kind of the Streisand Effect, as then everybody actually knew about information that Sony was trying so hard to keep private. It escalates out of control from there. The hacking of the actual PSN was not something that was so easily enabled because you had the right pieces. You still had to know what you were doing. Chances are, those people knew about the information before hand anyways. The Hotz incident was the last piece they needed to try to somehow justify their actions.

Now, with the gates opened, the flood has been unleashed. Hackers, most likely of the same group, have taken it upon themselves to try to ruin Sony. Don't think Sony is special in that respect. Any group of determined, skilled hackers could easily make it through the defenses of Microsoft or Nintendo if they so choose. Sony, trying to protect their intellectual property, are under fire for no other reason but for trying to protect their information.

All we have are pissy hackers that are making it a point to have a tantrum all over Sony's servers. I don't know what justice they are trying to achieve, or if they're just looking to hurt Sony for one reason or another. The motives are an unending enigma at this point in time, with people only being able to speculate based on what little information is available. Regardless, I'm rooting for Sony. These hackers have taken it far, far too far.

Off-topic: Sorry if it jumps around or something. I got little sleep and have been trying to get my brain going.

 

[Mantis41]

It seems like a case of "How much financial damage are the current hackers, piraters causing?" VS "How much damage are they capable of causing?"

In Sony's case it appears as if they are finding out the latter.

 

[Tonitonichopchop]

I believe it's a combination of two factors. One being that hackers have realized how awful Sony is with security, and two being that people are pissed with their actions in suing Geohot.

 

[Slasher Zero]

Nintendo is hiring hackers to ruin the reputaion of the PS3 for revenge because
Sony mocks the 3DS as a BABY sitting Tool !!! http://www.3dsbuzz.com/sony-slams-nintendo...bysitting-tool/
Sony is a peace a

.

 

[FluffyLunamoth]

It seems like a case of "How much financial damage are the current hackers, piraters causing?" VS "How much damage are they capable of causing?"

In Sony's case it appears as if they are finding out the latter.

...A can equal B, but B does not equal A all the time. Being a pirate does not make you a hacker. Being a hacker often will make you a pirate. Thus your statement is...invalid.

I think it was just some disgruntled people/group(s) that decided to see just how far they could really go.

 

[yuyuyup]

They deserve to be hacked to death

 

[Slasher Zero]

They deserved to be hacked to death

Hacked to Death

 

[defrb]

Revenge! Sony was arrogant. My 2 cents : this will kill sony within 2 years maybe 3. They have to get out of the game industry. Or make a deal with the hackers, wich is impossible.

"Upon taking George Hotz to court, Sony inadvertently opened a can of worms" ~ Nathan Drake

haha indeed ^^ worms all over the place

 

[SamAsh07]

I feel sad and happy at the same time for Sony, on one side they deserve all this, with their reputation getting trashed they might as well get some "brains" and rather than being so full of themselves, they'll actually start CARING. If not, then I hope hackers don't stop until Sony dies out, no one will attend the Funeral either.

while on the other side, there won't be any competition left for Nintendo which is quite lame..so .-.

 

[BlueStar]

They're a high value target that's been shown to be lax In terms of security and has its hands full fire-fighting a bunch of other hacks. That makes it particularly attractive.

 

[Naridar]

Revenge is an important factor here, as much as hackers wanting to show that if Sony messes with them (by sueing Geohot), they can mess with Sony in a bigger way. Geohot was fined $25000 AFAIK, whereas the costs and etc. of the PSN shutdown, security checks and updates are already WAY beyond that. After all, I think hackers are looking for a way to stop Sony from "playing unfair" (as in, taking the entire mess to court instead of countering hackers they way they want to be countered: security updates, etc.), and of course, protect themselves by instilling fear in Sony, that in turn, would discourage them from sueing another PS3 hacker.

 

[Snailface]

Streisand effect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

I don't think this quite fits the bill here. Although Sony has been trying their hardest to privatize information, hackers that make it a point to get through high security aren't exactly an innocent body making unimportant information public. Sony hasn't been purposefully attracting the attention here like Streisand did with her ridiculous case. It just doesn't match here.

The main problem lies in the fact that the first people who hacked the PSN initially opened up a gateway for other hackers. The first that harmfully hacked the PS3 showed other hackers that Sony was hackable. Saying that Sony doesn't do a good enough job doesn't cut it at this point. Even the Pentagon, one of the most secure buildings in the US electronically, has people that are able to easily slip through the high defenses. The short of it here, is that anybody can be hacked, no matter how secure the system. I can't think of a system in the world that is unhackable. There are always those that know their way in.

I think this is more exploitation of Sony's current vulnerabilities. Upon taking George Hotz to court, Sony inadvertently opened a can of worms. That in itself is kind of the Streisand Effect, as then everybody actually knew about information that Sony was trying so hard to keep private. It escalates out of control from there. The hacking of the actual PSN was not something that was so easily enabled because you had the right pieces. You still had to know what you were doing. Chances are, those people knew about the information before hand anyways. The Hotz incident was the last piece they needed to try to somehow justify their actions.

Now, with the gates opened, the flood has been unleashed. Hackers, most likely of the same group, have taken it upon themselves to try to ruin Sony. Don't think Sony is special in that respect. Any group of determined, skilled hackers could easily make it through the defenses of Microsoft or Nintendo if they so choose. Sony, trying to protect their intellectual property, are under fire for no other reason but for trying to protect their information.

All we have are pissy hackers that are making it a point to have a tantrum all over Sony's servers. I don't know what justice they are trying to achieve, or if they're just looking to hurt Sony for one reason or another. The motives are an unending enigma at this point in time, with people only being able to speculate based on what little information is available. Regardless, I'm rooting for Sony. These hackers have taken it far, far too far.

Off-topic: Sorry if it jumps around or something. I got little sleep and have been trying to get my brain going.

"The Streisand effect is a primarily online phenomenon in which an attempt to hide or remove a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely."

Your understanding of the definition is wrong, Streisand tried to suppress information not publicize it. Sony did the same by suing hackers for releasing their research. The unintended consequence was that it became a huge press story angering and inspiring other hackers to get involved or redouble their efforts. That led to Anonymous getting involved, for example. I honestly think if Sony hadn't sued Geohot, the Network attack wouldn't have occurred.

 

[Gwaith]

Maybe this will be called the Sony effect in the future then :-)

 

[SamAsh07]

Maybe this will be called the Sony effect in the future then :-)

I knew this was coming sooner or later

 

[ShinyLatios]

Revenge is an important factor here, as much as hackers wanting to show that if Sony messes with them (by sueing Geohot), they can mess with Sony in a bigger way. Geohot was fined $25000 AFAIK, whereas the costs and etc. of the PSN shutdown, security checks and updates are already WAY beyond that. After all, I think hackers are looking for a way to stop Sony from "playing unfair" (as in, taking the entire mess to court instead of countering hackers they way they want to be countered: security updates, etc.), and of course, protect themselves by instilling fear in Sony, that in turn, would discourage them from sueing another PS3 hacker.

this is what I wanted to type.

oh well