Unbelievably Bad News For Online Playstation 3 UsersArchived Message
Posted by Norad on April 26, 2011, 7:24 pm
NOTE: This is only of interest to PS3 users who have an account with the Playstation Network (PSN).
Obviously you're aware that we're approaching a week's worth of downtime with the PSN. However, a new development today ought to have 77 million PSN subscribers, every single last one of them, quaking in their personal information boots.
Sony revealed a few hours ago what everyone pretty much already knew: Hackers had compromised the PSN using a 'secret' Admin/Dev backdoor that allowed unfettered access to all downloadable content in the Playstation Store.
What happened next was extreme pirating of PSN software, to the point that Sony simply pulled the plug on the PSN last Wednesday night. And it's been off since then.
Frustrating enough, but get a load of the press release Sony issued a few hours ago:
That's right...whoever breached the PSN also gained access to every single bit of personal information you've ever given to PSN: Name, address, passwords, your online ID and most importantly, your credit card information and security questions and answers...many of which people use in multiple formats elsewhere online.
Yes. ALL of it. Every single scrap of info you care to name, that you gave to the PSN to download a game or buy game content is now out in the wild.
Ho. Lee. Crap.
I'm not sure where Sony goes with this from here, but this undoubtedly catapults Sony into the rarefied and dubious stratosphere of history's worst online personal security breaches.
I'm glad I only use the store-bought PSN gift cards to purchase online content, but for the millions of gamers that allowed Sony and the PSN to store their credit card info, this is a scary development indeed.
on April 26, 2011, 7:24 pm