"Dear Sony, You got hacked YET AGAIN; I'm leaving you."

UPDATE: Sony claims that despite reports, there's been some confusion as to the scale and scope of the hack. So according to them, no real attack has taken place. Check out this website for more information.

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It's not me Sony, it's you.

According to a report by the International Business Times, Sony's extensive new PlayStation Network security features, implemented only days ago, have been turned against them: The ailing company has been hacked yet again.

ARRRRGH!

Reportedly, the same group of hackers responsible for the original security breach that copped the personal information and possibly credit card numbers of more than 100 million user profiles is at it again, this time taking control of PSN accounts linked to users who have yet to reset their passwords.

PSN: Please Sony, NO!

"The hackers reportedly infiltrated the new mandatory PSN password reset system, manipulating the confirmation link sent to individuals trying to change their PSN password, modifying it into [a] tool that has allowed them to once again take control of many users accounts," said Alastair Stevenson, reporter for the International Business Times.

Sony says that users who changed their passwords already will not be affected by the latest attack on the company. However, users who have not yet signed back into PSN after its nearly month-long downtime will be unable to access the PlayStation 3's online features until Sony sorts out their newest woes.

PlayStation Network remains online for the time being.

Yesterday, tech guru and Best Buy Geek Squad agent Mike Quinn described Sony's pre-hack security to me as the equivalent of leaving one's car doors open, with the car running and the sunroof down. It seems that Sony's post-hack situation isn't much different.

This latest debacle just might be the last straw for me and Sony's big Blu box. As much as I despise the controller, I might just have to make Xbox 360 my system of choice for a while. Or better yet, I could just play through SNES Earthbound again while this whole thing blows over.

You can keep the car, house and the kids Sony. But I'm taking the Nintendo and you can't stop me.

And Silent Hill; I'm gonna take that too.

Edios Takes a Hacker Hit; Let's a Play Friday the 13th For NES

I'd really like to talk about something else on this blog - like Sega's brawler Streets of Rage, the upcoming Duke Nukem Forever, or even Milon's Secret Castle for the NES - but people keep hacking the heck out of gaming companies lately, so it seems more important (and timely!) to talk about that instead.

The latest victim of nerd rage is Edios Interactive, owned by parent company Square-Enix and pwned Wednesday by someone calling him- or herself "Chipping1337." Although Edios says there's no evidence of credit card info being stolen yet, this latest hack attack cost them about 25,000 e-mail addresses and 350 resumes.

Note to gaming companies: If an applicant claims to have held 350 awesome jobs on their resume, you're probably dealing with a thief.

The hackers struck the website for Edios's upcoming Deus Ex: Human Revolution game, as well as the Eidos Montreal's website. The company shut down their websites and says that they're currently notifying those who's info might have been compromised. Meanwhile, back in Hackerville, the bad guys say that they're going to start distributing the misbegotten information soon via file-sharing services.

"I couldn't protect your resumes. I... I'm sorry."

First Sony (then Sony, then Sony AGAIN) and now Edios. What's going on? Is this some sort of calculated attack on gaming, masterminded, no doubt, by the Legion of Doom in their underground Hall of Destruction? Are we experiencing some kind of copycat crime spree? Or were these attacks unrelated, having been planned for weeks and coinciding by mere happenstance?

I'm not sure. All I know is that 1.) Maybe it's best to hunker down with my good ol' Genesis and SNES games, and 2.) this is a dark time for gaming.

By the way, tomorrow PlayStation Network will have been down for 28 days.

On this, the 13th day of the month (a Friday you see), what may make you feel better is reading about everyone's favorite NES flop, Friday the 13th by LJN. At least playing that game, you won't have your address stolen by hackers; you'll just be killed outright.

Man, that Jason Voorhees is a considerate fellow.


He's the most dangerous hacker I know.



Sony Hacked Yet Again; Here's a Cool Wesite to Make Up For It

Last Saturday, May 7th, marked the third hack attack on Sony when cyber terrorists stole the names and partial addresses of approximately 2500 Sony customers and placed the information online for all to see - and steal.

The good news is that the hackers stuck a website Sony had used for a contest in 2001; therefore, aside from much of the data being outdated, no credit card information was revealed. Also, Sony detected the breach and had the information removed within a matter of hours after it was posted.

Compared to scope of the previous attacks on Sony - wherein information from more than 100 million gamer profiles was stolen - this latest caper seems rather uninspired. According to reports from CNET, the hackers responsible for the latest attack are upset with the way Sony dealt with previous attacks, so they targeted the company again. The hacker's logic is impeccable: Obviously the best way to advocate for customers is to F*CK THEM OVER AGAIN.

Sony's PlayStation Network is still offline as of May 9, 2011, leaving thousands of cool people without access to the online features of Super Street Fighter IV and Mortal Kombat and millions of other annoying eighth graders without access to a bunch of crappy first person shooters.

I think I'd be really upset if it weren't for the fact that a.) I cancelled my PSN-linked credit card in response to the attacks and b.) I prefer and continue to own/play old-ass games. No PSN? That's cool; I'm playing Final Fantasy II.

...No, not the one with Cecil, the crappy one with Firion(iel).

Seriously, I'm sick of this. (The attacks I mean; not FFII, though it's starting to wear thin my fourth time through.) Though I tend to lean towards Sony products for my current generation gaming needs, I own all three of today's big consoles and I like to think of myself is rather impartial. That being said, it seems to me that someone is targeting the ailing company for reasons unknown; perhaps personal vendettas or even inter-company sabotage, but most likely just for their own profit. Whatever it is, I wish they'd stop. I've written this open letter to the hackers to hopefully make the understand my point of view.

Dear Hackers,

Look, a lot of people need a way to relieve the stress of working all day and they do that with video games. Please stop hacking Sony. I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Matt

Anyway, I'd like to leave you, my loyal reader(s) with something positive. I found this website, called The Cutting Room Floor, detailing things left out of the video games you love and cherish. It's a wonderfully interesting read and highly recommended, especially for fans of old, sprite-based games.

Hopefully this can keep me from lamenting over Sony and its poorly handled woes.

Twice-Hacked Sony Responds to US House of Reps

Not even Crash Bandicoot can save us now.

"Oh crap! ...Can't we call in Mario?"

Things just keep getting worse for the company that helped bring CD-based console gaming out of the dark ages and Blu-Ray discs into the mainstream: According to Sony, the personal information of 24.6 million Sony Online Entertainment users, possibly including 20,000 credit card numbers and expiration dates, has been compromised by hackers.

The news comes in the wake of a recent cyber attack against PlayStation 3 users that culled the personal information – and possibly credit card numbers – of all 77 million PlayStation Network profiles. Both attacks likely took place around the same time.

Sony Online Entertainment, a division of the electronics giant that handles the online components of computer games like the recently released DC Universe Online, shut down their services on Monday night after learning of the intrusion. As of 3 p.m. on May 4, 2011, both Sony’s PC gaming servers and PlayStation Network remain unavailable.

Today, in a letter responding to several questions posed to the company by the U.S. House of Representatives, Sony claimed that forensic teams studying the attack discovered a file marked “anonymous” on the hacked PSN servers that contained the words “We are Legion.” Anonymous is a hacker group that took responsibility for a recent “denial of service” attack on Sony and its customers, and – through they denied any involvement from the beginning – may have aided in or orchestrated the newest security breaches that shut down PSN and SOE services.

This is Anonymous. Apparently, they are Legion.
And Legion told them to stop people from playing Call of Duty.

“Whether those who participated in the denial of service attacks were conspirators or whether they were simply duped into providing cover for a very clever thief, we may never know,” said Sony in their response to the House of Representatives.

Apparently, the Anonymous group attacked Sony in response to the company’s decision to take legal action against PS3 exploit artist George Hotz.

Sony’s response to the House of Representatives can be found in its size 2 font entirety here.