Sony restores PlayStation Network parts
Kill each other again
Sony reinstated several features of the PlayStation Network yesterday in a phased return of service throughout Europe and North America.
Tweeters and Facebook fiends were in full swing last night, with gamers rejoicing like they'd just killed Osama Bin Laden.
The return comes almost an entire month since the service was first taken down following Sony's discovery of a major hack which saw customers' personal details stolen - and Sony lambasted for security failures.
In the video below, CEO Kaz Hirai outlines the restoration process and issues another apology to those affected:
To fix the problem, users must first download a mandatory update - PS3 firmware 3.61 - which lets users into the PSN to change their password. This has to be done from the PS3 console the account was initially activated on, although it is possible to use email activation instead.
Once this is done, users can reconnect and enjoy most PSN features, including PS3/ PSP gaming, PlayStation Home and subscription services such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer and LoveFilm.
While many users are still complaining of connection issues, Sony says the system is struggling with heavy traffic due to so many password resets, and assures regular service will resume soon.
The return should quash frustrations of many PS3 gamers, so desperate to play Call of Duty that several exchanged their PS3 consoles for an Xbox 360. With the service back up, Sony can now work on rebuilding customer trust, if possible. ®
COMMENTS
Lets answer your questions...
1) It happened in the first place due to poor security and a professional dedicated hack. So yes Fail icon here is relevant.
2) Its taken a while to restore because Sony have taken the effort to try to ensure this doesnt happen again. Yes this is closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, but you seem upset that they've "wasted" time repairing the system when you could have instead been playing games. That is an incredibly childish point of view.
3) Why do you need a software update? Why do you think? To prevent the same security breach happening again. If someone steals your keys and breaks into your house, youve got no one to blame but yourself if you dont change the locks and they break in again! So you being upset you have to download a software update to make your system safer is doubly childish!
4) Why is the password server down? Well that was explained in the article if you had manage to control your short attention span long enough to make it to the bottom of the article. It is down due to the high demand associated with lots of people (70+million accounts worth) trying to change their passwords.
Get a life, its a computer game network. Its down whilst its being fixed. It will be back soon. Deal with it!
Blame...etc.
I'll probably get down-voted to Hades for this, but what the hell!
As much as you love or hate Sony they were still a victim of crime. It's true that they could/should have taken more definite measures to safeguard personal info, but the REAL crime is that of hacking with the sole intention of causing disruption and/or theft of personal data for nefarious means. The fact that it was Sony is neither here nor there, and the fact that they managed to keep personal info in a fugging unencrypted format was nothing but a bonus for the hackers - I bet there are smaller, lower-profile businesses who do this as well.
I'll hang on a couple of days and then re-register after the rush has died down. Personally, I'm glad they're back and I'm glad they're trying to do it properly.
Someone please turn it off
(or take it out), until my son has finished his exams.
I expect Sony...
Will be quite willing to compensate you for the same amount as what you paid for the free service during the downtime. Like for like and all that, it's only fair.
Well, try these two on for size...
health.net - 1.9 million customer details including names, addresses, **social security numbers**, and **credit/debit card details** (not disclosed for months after the attack)
Heartland Payments - 130 million Credit/Debit card records (not disclosed for months after the attack)
TJX - 45 million cardholder details including card numbers (was not disclosed for *years*)
The attackers here got names, email/postal address information, dates of birth and password hashes. They did not get the primary card databases, which were encrypted in any case, and in fact the only confirmed information theft of CC data was 900 active card numbers in a 4 year old backup/development database at SOE. Sony came forward within 2 days of the outage, and 4 days later with only the preliminary analysis complete they warned customers. In a very real sense Sony nearly jumped the gun by informing people so quickly. Typically such attacks and data breaches are not reported publicly for months afterwards because of the time taken to analyze the attack and restore/strengthen systems. Yet despite that, Sony got castigated for being *slow* to respond, when they were in fact abnormally *fast* to respond and advise customers. As much as non-technical gamers wish to decry their response, or people pre-disposed to hate on Sony wish to use this as a stick to beat Sony, the reality is that hacks happen and Sony has responded extremely quickly and strongly to the attack, and they have in reality done far more than any organization I can remember to compensate their customers. Attacks happen, and a determined attacker may be able to break into any network - given time. So, it's not just about the precautions you take, it's about how you respond. Were there flaws in Sony's Security? Sure, of course there were. That said, you could challenge any network of similar size and scope to prove itself free from security flaws. So, blame where blame is due, but let's keep this in perspective. If you accept that attacks are going to happen and no security is perfect, then what matter as much or more is how the victim of the hack responds to protect their customers. If you compare Sony's reaction to those of others, there is a contrast, and Sony doesn't look bad at all.
There's a story at Computer world that talks more about this if you want further reference.
You almost have to ask why the tech media jumped on Sony so strongly, when they soft pedal the coverage of other breaches - Last Pass anyone?
Try this article for some perspective...
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9216724/Is_Sony_getting_a_bad_rap_on_its_data_breach_
