PSN/Sony breaches

[Dave]

Your post is completely full of fail. First of all, the reason Sony got hacked likely had nothing to do with the fact someone chanced upon a random security flaw, but more likely has to do with the fact they've pissed off the hacker community with the removal of the OtherOS option on PS3, and then their lawsuit against GeoHot and their orchestration of the arrest of graf_chokolo. Sony strong arming people to try and prevent them from tinkering with a system they bought has been met with outrage amongst the hacking community.

No matter what someone may tell you, there is no such thing as a fool proof system. The concept just does not exist. I assure you, if people were going after Microsoft with the same fervor they've been going after Sony lately, they'd hack the Xbox community as well. I mean, good God, Microsoft for YEARS was notorious for having weak security in their software.

You're trying to make this a Microsoft vs. Sony argument, and the fact is that's just silly and short-sighted. This isn't about Microsoft vs. Sony, this is about Sony vs. Hackers, and Sony being seen as a Star Wars level "evil empire" for the tactics they've chosen to punish people who have violated the Sony EULA, by modifying their consoles.

Again, like I said, if Microsoft were to take the same measures Sony has, and would piss off the hacker community worldwide like Sony has, your personal information would be just as likely to be compromised.

I never said that someone “chanced upon it”. In fact, I know it is quite the opposite. This is a scheduled attack by some members of the hacking community, I am not doubting that in the slightest. However, what I am getting at is that Sony are the only ones to blame. In fact, you yourself have said that it is because they are trying to strong-arm the online community. I don't blame Sony for putting these measures into place but they cannot be shown to be the innocent party in all of this.

Secondly. What I am getting at is that Sony should have been better prepared for a hacking attack such as this. I mean, this is not some random people who have taken advantage of something they have happened upon. One would have thought that Sony would have created a much more fail-safe option. Cutting off the package and then having to rebuild it is simply not good enough. There's what that is.

As for Microsoft, I happen to think that they have a much more stable system that Sony do. I don't want to turn it into a Microsoft/Sony debate but I have never had a problem with Microsoft being careless with my information. The fact of the matter is that Sony are to blame as much as anyone. They should have been testing their system for possible hacks and remedying them before they even got started. I am more than sure that I would feel the same way had Live been hacked.

Then again, we all know that Microsoft are much more open to collaboration from the outside community. That is why they have opened up the Kinect for the community to begin playing with. Yes, they will still come down hard on people with chipped consoles but Sony have taken it to a new level.

 

[Slyfox696]

I never said that someone “chanced upon it”. In fact, I know it is quite the opposite. This is a scheduled attack by some members of the hacking community, I am not doubting that in the slightest. However, what I am getting at is that Sony are the only ones to blame. In fact, you yourself have said that it is because they are trying to strong-arm the online community. I don't blame Sony for putting these measures into place but they cannot be shown to be the innocent party in all of this.

Well, of course they are. Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with their philosophy, but the fact is if they DON'T go after modified consoles, and those modified consoles are hacked to cheat in online games, then it's not fair at all for people who don't violate their EULA.

What is Sony supposed to do?

Secondly. What I am getting at is that Sony should have been better prepared for a hacking attack such as this.

That's akin to saying a Windows system should never be compromised, which we both know is silly. In the world of computer, you can't plan for everything that can go wrong.

I mean, this is not some random people who have taken advantage of something they have happened upon. One would have thought that Sony would have created a much more fail-safe option. Cutting off the package and then having to rebuild it is simply not good enough. There's what that is.

Again, things aren't so cut and dry. It depends upon how the attack was performed, what was compromised, etc.

For example, when Sony's encryption keys were finally hacked, the only way to fix that solution is to completely redo the firmware with the new encryption keys. At that point, the entire framework for have the console runs has been compromised, and there's no such thing as an easy fix. It could be a similar situation. And when you're dealing with people's personal information, credit cards, etc., you're not going to half-ass the project and put it back online before you've checked everything you can think of. That would be irresponsible.

As for Microsoft, I happen to think that they have a much more stable system that Sony do. I don't want to turn it into a Microsoft/Sony debate but I have never had a problem with Microsoft being careless with my information.

Then you obviously haven't followed Microsoft very closely or for very long.

The fact of the matter is that Sony are to blame as much as anyone.

Funny, because I thought the people who illegally hacked their network and possibly stole people's personal information would be the ones to blame.

They should have been testing their system for possible hacks and remedying them before they even got started.

Well they do. They're constantly testing things, and constantly revising their code. But system vulnerabilities are always going to exist. There's no such thing as a perfect system.

I am more than sure that I would feel the same way had Live been hacked.

And I'd be here pointing out how silly it is for you to say that.

Then again, we all know that Microsoft are much more open to collaboration from the outside community.

That's why all of their software is closed source, right?

That is why they have opened up the Kinect for the community to begin playing with.

Yes, after threatening the people who first began hacking it.

To say Microsoft supports the community would get you laughed off of any tech forum. Only after Microsoft realized how much money and publicity they could get off people hacking the Kinect did they open it up.

 

[Lee]

As noted in the OP, console war talks will be deleted straight off the bat. Please keep this on the topic of the PSN being down and how that relates to Sony, their customers and the gaming world.

Thanks.

 

[Evilash]

Your post is completely full of fail. First of all, the reason Sony got hacked likely had nothing to do with the fact someone chanced upon a random security flaw, but more likely has to do with the fact they've pissed off the hacker community with the removal of the OtherOS option on PS3, and then their lawsuit against GeoHot and their orchestration of the arrest of graf_chokolo. Sony strong arming people to try and prevent them from tinkering with a system they bought has been met with outrage amongst the hacking community.

No matter what someone may tell you, there is no such thing as a fool proof system. The concept just does not exist. I assure you, if people were going after Microsoft with the same fervor they've been going after Sony lately, they'd hack the Xbox community as well. I mean, good God, Microsoft for YEARS was notorious for having weak security in their software.

You're trying to make this a Microsoft vs. Sony argument, and the fact is that's just silly and short-sighted. This isn't about Microsoft vs. Sony, this is about Sony vs. Hackers, and Sony being seen as a Star Wars level "evil empire" for the tactics they've chosen to punish people who have violated the Sony EULA, by modifying their consoles.

Again, like I said, if Microsoft were to take the same measures Sony has, and would piss off the hacker community worldwide like Sony has, your personal information would be just as likely to be compromised.

You forgot to mention that Sony laid down the gauntlet by claiming that the PS3 and PSN was "unhackable". When you make bold claims like that, the hacking community has no choice but to respond with "Challenge Accepted".

 

[Sully]

The PSN outage has affected me, as I am a big fan of the Call of Duty franchise and one of it's best features is online play, but I'm not going to sit in my room with the lights off and cry in the corner (Like I did after Superbowl 45), I'm also not going to go and say "Get a life, go outside" because that's stupid. We are video game nerds for a reason, we enjoy playing video games. And not all people can just go run around and play outside. Some are stuff inside due to medical conditions or looking after a family member.

There are many times when I'm not playing Call of Duty, there could be a point in time where I would play Madden, doing a franchise which requires no online activity at all, but oddly enough the way I work with video games, I have to be in that mood to play it. Maybe at one point I'd want to play Madden, I'd play it for the next week or two, then I'd switch over into another game for the next week or two. At the time of the outage, I was on a Call of Duty streak...which really disrupted my mind set.

It's not exactly that I can't go and do another game..it's just that I feel...restricted. I know that I am not physically able to go and play Call of Duty, even if I wanted to..and that's what bugs me. Call of Duty might be the only game I often play online...there are so many times in the year that I play other games without using online play..but yet I feel so annoyed that I can't go online. It's rather quite odd and difficult to explain.

I do not think Sony should repay any costumers, it is a free service. If they do, they do..but I don't think customers should be demanding anything, especially the ones who aren't Plus Subscribers, they should be happy the service is free, and that they get anything at all. So many people in the comments of blogs are ranting and swearing at Sony, when the entire PSN outage isn't even their fault. But there is always going to be people like that. I guess if they really want to, they could give some free avatars away or something. That way they wouldn't lose much money, and could even quickly create. An avatar that says "I survived the PSN outage" would be perfect, as humor always lightens a situation.

I have a PS3, so I'm slightly annoyed by all this. Last time PSN went down it was only for a day or two, but now who knows how long this will go on. A lot of games, i.e. Call of Duty, require an online component for an OFFLINE feature of the game to work, like Combat Training and such, so you really can't do much when it comes to that game.

If you go into split screen mode, set the game to team deathmatch or free for all, then go into game settings, it will be the same as combat training. You don't even have to have another controller or a split screen, plus..you actually get everything unlocked, so it's quite better then the actual combat training.

 

[Evilash]

Well just because a service is free doesnt mean the users should just bend over and take it everytime something bad happens.

Secondly, the compensation the users are demanding isnt simply because they cant get online. It also has to do with their personal information being compromised. Sure Sony claims that credit card security wasnt compromised, but they also originally claimed that personal information hadnt been compromised and that turned out to be a lie.

 

[Sully]

Just because it turns out personal information had been compromised, doesn't mean they exactly lied to the people. Most of the time, the person writing the blog is left out of a lot of information, and with people demanding what is going on..they have to write it fast. Maybe at that time they were still figuring out what exactly was going on and what had been compromised and what had not.

Unless the users want to apply for a job at Sony, they should just bend over and take it, because they have no idea how hard it is working in a big company with a huge population. Not only is Sony getting pressure from their fans, working day and night to fix the problem, and getting pressure from all the Playstation users, they are still trying to get the job done and eventually will.

Sony has already spent a lot of money trying to resolve this problem, and then people want them to compensate the fact that they couldn't go online for a week on something that is absolutely free? No, it shouldn't work that way. The compensation should be getting to play online again, and if Sony wants to make a few free Avatars for users, they should be grateful at the least that Sony has even decided to give them anything.

 

[Find'er Woo'er Ryder]

I'm pissed. I'm buying a Playstation 3 in a few weeks and I was only doing it for three reasons.

The first is because I already own a Xbox but it is in California.

The second is for the blue-ray. I want to step up from watching scratched up DVD's to scratched up blue-ray.

And the third is because of the free internet and getting to play online for free. Now that the most important one is gone I feel like I should just go get my xbox.

I'll probably still buy it because I want to play L.A Noire.

 

[Mac Attack]

Ok I'm slighly annoyed now. I figured that it wouldn't take that long to fix however now it is getting unruly. I looked into the situation and they said the hackers now have access to all your information. I'm sorry but PS3 when you wrote in the last line deal with it yourself that kind of bothered me. I almost feel the necessity to switch back to XBox now because of the overall report summary that I have read. And the truth is I'm not even a big gamer. This was quite annoying and it honestly is something that never should happen again.

 

[Sully]

The hackers do not have access to all your personal information. They infiltrated PlayStation Network, and as soon as Sony saw this, they immediately shut down PSN, making the Hackers unable to do anything within the network. I suppose in the short time they had, if they were quick, they could have gotten some information, which is why Sony is being cautious. But Sony said themselves, they cannot confirm if they took any information or not, but it is highly unlikely.

If the off chance of somebody's information getting stolen did occur, and somebody who had their credit card info infiltrated happened to get their identity stolen, Sony should as well, not be to blamed. They have sent emails to everyone who put their credit card in, they informed everybody as best as they could, and highly encouraged cancelling their cards. Plus, all PSN users signed the Terms and Conditions. If anybody were to attempt and try to sue Sony, they would get blown out of the water in court on account of what I said above, and the fact that Sony is a high valued company with huge lawyers.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

Sony just finished holding a press conference in Tokyo (and from the small parts that I watched was painfully boring and difficult to follow) announcing that the PlayStation Network will be turned back on at sometime next week and that Sony will provide all PSN users with a "Welcome Back" program.

The "Welcome Back" program will give all existing PlayStation Network users 30 days of PlayStation Plus for free. Current PSN+ members will receive 30 days of additional service for free. It will also provide "selected PlayStation entertainment content" for free download. Details for each region will be announced at a later date. Music Unlimited subscribers (in countries where the service is available) will receive 30 days free service.

When the Network goes live next week, users must download a new system firmware update and will ask users to create a new password. Sony will also do a phased rollout by region for PSN services. Next week's initial rollout includes:

* Restoration of Online game-play across the PlayStation 3 and PSP systems. This includes titles requiring online verification and downloaded games

* Access to Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3/PSP for existing subscribers. Sony will have a phased rollout by region for PlayStation Network next week. The services that will be available include:

* Access to account management and password reset

* Access to download un-expired Movie Rentals on PS3, PSP and MediaGo

* PlayStation Home

* Friends List

* Chat Functionality

 

[HBK-aholic]

You forgot to mention that Sony laid down the gauntlet by claiming that the PS3 and PSN was "unhackable". When you make bold claims like that, the hacking community has no choice but to respond with "Challenge Accepted".

They had no choice? Really now? You see, I'd assume that just because someone makes a claim, false or otherwise, it doesn't mean you go and break the law. I love how people are attempting to make this all Sony's fault, when the only people to blame are the ones illegally hacking into systems. They did definitely have a choice here, that being to NOT hack the system. They chose to do so, inconveniencing millions and making everything that happens now their fault and no one elses.

 

[Evilash]

They had no choice? Really now? You see, I'd assume that just because someone makes a claim, false or otherwise, it doesn't mean you go and break the law. I love how people are attempting to make this all Sony's fault, when the only people to blame are the ones illegally hacking into systems. They did definitely have a choice here, that being to NOT hack the system. They chose to do so, inconveniencing millions and making everything that happens now their fault and no one elses.

Unfortunately we dont live in a world where logic and commonsense dictate people's actions. Actually lemme rephrase, where logic and commonsense dictate people's online actions. Youre right, the hackers had the choice to not hack Sony, but like I said, logic and commonsense, atleast not based on our established sense of morals. However, then again, if Sony had any logic and commonsense, they would've known by now that when you make a claim like "We're hackproof" the hacking community is going to rise up because they'll take that as a challenge.

Its a two way street. Im not saying Sony is totally at fault, but then again theyre not totally innocent either.

 

[Lee]

Sony Online Entertainment confirmed today it is investigating an illegal intrusion into its network systems and that hackers may have stolen SOE customer information.

Sony said this was not a second attack, and the temporary take down of SOE services was related to the ongoing investigation of the external intrusion that occurred in April.

"This information, which was discovered by engineers and security consultants reviewing SOE systems, showed that personal information from approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts may have been stolen, as well as certain information from an outdated database from 2007," SOE said in a statement.

"The information from the outdated database that may have been stolen includes approximately 12,700 non-U.S. credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates (but not credit card security codes), and about 10,700 direct debit records of certain customers in Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Spain."

The personal information of the approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts that was illegally obtained, to the extent it had been provided to SOE, is as follows:

- name

- address

- e-mail address

- birthdate

- gender

- phone number

- login name

- hashed password.

In addition to the information above, the 10,700 direct debit records from accounts in Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Spain, include:

- bank account number

- customer name

- account name

- customer address.

SOE says it will give customers 30 days of additional time on their subscriptions "in addition to compensating them one day for each day the system is down." The company is also outlining a "make good" plan for its multiplatform MMOs - DC Universe Online and Free Realms - with more details coming this week.

Fuck it just gets worse, now SOE is down. For those who don't know what SOE is it's "Sony Online Entertainment" which hosts a lot of MMO's including EverQuest, EverQuest II, The Matrix Online, PlanetSide, Star Wars Galaxies, Free Realms, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and DC Universe Online.

That's apparently over 20million details compromised. This is bigger than previously thought.

 

[Fizzy]

It's a huge deal for anybody that owns a PS3. Hopefully Sony can come back strong from this, but it seems much to serious. To many people will be afraid to go back to Sony after this for fear of this happening again. It just keeps getting worse and worse for Sony. I suspect Microsoft will really benefit from this as many people will likely switch over. Hopefully this gets sorted out eventually with as little damage to peoples bank accounts as possible.

 

[Owensplat]

id like to thank the hackers for effictively bricking my psp go... i can see sony no longer looking at a downlooad model for games and i wonder how much longer they may support the damn thing.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

Just because it turns out personal information had been compromised, doesn't mean they exactly lied to the people. Most of the time, the person writing the blog is left out of a lot of information, and with people demanding what is going on..they have to write it fast. Maybe at that time they were still figuring out what exactly was going on and what had been compromised and what had not.

As I've mentioned before, I'm not upset that Sony got caught off-guard and got hacked by a group of idiots. I am very upset about the lack of communication between Sony and it's customers.

Sony didn't lie to people, they just avoided informing people of the truth. Personal information (possibly) being compromised should have been annouced as soon as it was even a remore possibility.

I don't blame the people writting the Sony blogs (like you are suggesting people do.) They can only write what information they are given. I blame the individual who didn't give the OK to post the important information. It was six days before Sony started to be straight and non-cryptic in their information and to me, thats about four days too long.

Unless the users want to apply for a job at Sony, they should just bend over and take it, because they have no idea how hard it is working in a big company with a huge population. Not only is Sony getting pressure from their fans, working day and night to fix the problem, and getting pressure from all the Playstation users, they are still trying to get the job done and eventually will.

So, paying customer's should be punished (and bend over and take it) because Sony having a large customer fanbase? Sorry, but I don't see the logic in that. If my bank got hacked, and my personal information might have been compromised, and I ws unable to do any banking (paying bills, transfer money, withdrawl money, viewing accounts) should I be punished because of that?

Sony has already spent a lot of money trying to resolve this problem, and then people want them to compensate the fact that they couldn't go online for a week on something that is absolutely free? No, it shouldn't work that way. The compensation should be getting to play online again, and if Sony wants to make a few free Avatars for users, they should be grateful at the least that Sony has even decided to give them anything.

Sony doesn't have to compensate affected users, after all, they didn't hack their own servers and affect millions of gamers. But because of the hassle that this is creating, and how they have handled the situation, they should offer some form of compensation in an attempt to save face and not

I'm pissed. I'm buying a Playstation 3 in a few weeks and I was only doing it for three reasons.

The first is because I already own a Xbox but it is in California.

The second is for the blue-ray. I want to step up from watching scratched up DVD's to scratched up blue-ray.And the third is because of the free internet and getting to play online for free. Now that the most important one is gone I feel like I should just go get my xbox.

I'll probably still buy it because I want to play L.A Noire.

L.A. Noire is also being released on Xbox so if that is one of your main concerns, then buy a Blu-Ray Player and play L.A. Noire on your Xbox.

Ok I'm slighly annoyed now. I figured that it wouldn't take that long to fix however now it is getting unruly. I looked into the situation and they said the hackers now have access to all your information.

Sony has said that hackers MAY have had access to some personal information.

I'm sorry but PS3 when you wrote in the last line deal with it yourself that kind of bothered me. I almost feel the necessity to switch back to XBox now because of the overall report summary that I have read. And the truth is I'm not even a big gamer. This was quite annoying and it honestly is something that never should happen again.

Switch to Xbox, I won't miss you.

As for this never happening again, good luck. Hackers gonna hack and it seems like they are always half a step ahead of the latest defence against hacking.

 

[Slyfox696]

Just to pass on some other information...


Sony came out either yesterday or the day before (don't remember which) and essentially blamed Anonymous for the exploit. No, they didn't claim Anonymous was the ones who hacked them, what they said is Anonymous was the reason the intrusion managed to dig as deep as it did. Apparently, a couple weeks ago, Anonymous was hitting Sony with DDoS attacks (which is where specially designed software overloads the web server with Internet requests and forces it offline), and Sony had most of their manpower focused on keeping the network up against the attacks. While the DDoS attack was going on, a hacker (in my opinion, most likely independent of Anonymous) used that window to sneak in undetected, and since Sony's attention was on keeping their network up against the DDos attack, nobody realized the other hacker was in until it was too late, and people's details had been compromised. The Anonymous DDoS attack was, of course, retribution for Sony's lawsuit and attacks on GeoHot and graf_chokolo.

Additionally, if I remember correctly and read right, the vulnerability was a known vulnerability NOT in Sony's network, but rather on the web application server they use. To explain that better, let's use WZ as a crude example. Using Sony's PSN as a parallel example, someone hacks WZ and steals everyone's name, e-mail accounts and password. The hacker doing this did NOT do it by hacking the code which runs the vBulletin software on which WZ is run, but rather hacking the web server which is used to host the forums. So, going back to Sony now, the PSN didn't have a vulnerability (that was exploited), it got compromised because of the web application server it was hosted on, which is not created by them. However, it was a KNOWN vulnerability that Sony admits they didn't know about. Apparently someone was asleep at the wheel on that one.


So, with all of this new information, how do you feel about this hack now? Do you blame Anonymous for creating the diversion necessary for the hacker to get in, simply because they were pouting at Sony not letting people modify their consoles? Do you blame Sony's "defense" team for not keeping up with known vulnerabilities in the software which hosts their online networks and patching them? Do you blame Sony itself for keeping personal details (not credit card numbers) in plain-text files?


How do you feel about this situation now?

 

[shattered dreams]

I have a hard time believing that the "other" hacker was operating completely independently of Anonymous. Sony definitely screwed up if they did not know about a known vulnerability. That is a pretty big oversight. Collecting personal data in mass is such a huge part of practically any business now. How that data is stored and protected is going to become a big issue sooner than later. The scary part is that there are probably a lot of places out there with a lot less security than sony who have even more important data stored in even less secure places. In spite of the possible bad press I think companies are going to be content to roll the dice that it isn't worth it to them to invest that much in securing the data until external oversight forces them to.

 

[3/4 Facelock]

The really cool thing to say on your post is that since PSN is free you can’t really complain about it, and that’s pretty fucking stupid. Maybe you could've said that if you couldn’t play Shadow of the Colossus online with your Playstation 2, but that era is fucking over.

FUCKING OVER. DUNZO.

The store, your friends list, these aren’t perks. By 2011, they’re the foundation of the medium. The deal they made with PS users - one which, for many years, was the justification for a insane price disparity - was “free Xbox Live,” not “shit happens.”

So for those of you on here thinking you're so brilliant that your shitty wisdom nugget of "it's free, shut up" can take that nugget and shove it back up your giant asshole where it fell out of originally along with whatever passes for a brain in your dipshit filled head.

 

[Evilash]

So, with all of this new information, how do you feel about this hack now? Do you blame Anonymous for creating the diversion necessary for the hacker to get in, simply because they were pouting at Sony not letting people modify their consoles? Do you blame Sony's "defense" team for not keeping up with known vulnerabilities in the software which hosts their online networks and patching them? Do you blame Sony itself for keeping personal details (not credit card numbers) in plain-text files?


How do you feel about this situation now?

No, Anon is not at fault because someone took advantage of the fact Sony's attention was else where.

Imagine some guy is robbing a bank and it becomes pretty high profile. Hostage situation, Feds get called it, its a circus. Now is it fair to blame that bank robber because some other guy when around robbing one liquor store after another because the cops are so preoccupied with the bank robbery?

I have a hard time believing that the "other" hacker was operating completely independently of Anonymous. Sony definitely screwed up if they did not know about a known vulnerability. That is a pretty big oversight. Collecting personal data in mass is such a huge part of practically any business now. How that data is stored and protected is going to become a big issue sooner than later. The scary part is that there are probably a lot of places out there with a lot less security than sony who have even more important data stored in even less secure places. In spite of the possible bad press I think companies are going to be content to roll the dice that it isn't worth it to them to invest that much in securing the data until external oversight forces them to.

Well the thing about Anonymous is the fact that anyone can claim they are a part of it and there is very little one could do to disprove it. However, just because someone claims to be part of Anon, that doesnt mean they actually are. Id be surprised if more than a handful of people actually know who the leaders of Anon are.

Secondly, Anon hasnt shown themselves to be interested in the personal data of nameless civilians. They go after specific people for a specific purpose. This secondary attack doesnt not fit their pattern.

Third and final, they WANT people to know when and where they strike. They may hide behind the anonymity of the internet, but honesty is one of their virtues. If they say they didnt authorize the second attack, then that means they are not directly responsible.

What Im interested in seeing now, is who gets to this hacker first. The feds or Anon (that is assuming of course that Anon cares).

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

It looks like we might not have to wait too much longer before the Playstation Network is back online (even if just partially at this point). Sony reported yesterday that they were in the final stages of their internal testing for its new system.

Sony has also announced that they will be providing all PSN users with a "complimentary enrollment in an identity theft protection program."

I don't think it can be said that Sony isn't working to get this issue fixed and make it right to their customers.

PlayStation Network will be returning soon. Sony said today internal testing of its new system is in the final stages. The company did not provide an window for when PSN will be operational, however. Sony said last month that certain PSN services would go live during the first week of May.

"Today our global network and security teams at Sony Network Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment began the final stages of internal testing of the new system, an important step towards restoring PlayStation Network and Qriocity services," corporate communications director Patrick Seybold said on the PlayStation Blog.

"As previously mentioned, we've been working around the clock to rebuild the network and enhance protections of your personal data. It's our top priority to ensure your data is safe when you begin using the services again.

"We understand that many of you are eager to again enjoy the PlayStation Network and Qriocity entertainment services that you love, so we wanted you to be aware of this milestone and our progress. We will provide additional updates as soon as we can."

A letter from Howard Stringer, president and CEO of Sony, said, "To date, there is no confirmed evidence any credit card or personal information has been misused, and we continue to monitor the situation closely."

He later continued saying, "In the coming days, we will restore service to the networks and welcome you back to the fun. I wanted to personally reach out and let you know that we are committed to serving you to the very best of our ability, protecting your information better than ever, and getting you back to what you signed up for – all the games and great entertainment experiences that you expect from Sony."

The company also said it's providing a complimentary enrollment in an identity theft protection program for U.S. users, with plans to offer similar programs in other countries/territories.
Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment International have made arrangements with Debix, Inc., one of the industry's most reputable identity protection firms, to offer AllClear ID Plus at no cost to PlayStation Network and Qriocity account holders for 12 months from the time an account holder registers for the program.

Please note that we will start sending out activation emails for this program over the next few days, and you will have until June 18th to sign-up and redeem your code. You will need to sign up directly through AllClearID, not on Sony's websites, and details, including step-by-step instructions for the program, will be emailed to United States PSN and Qriocity Account holders soon.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

I just finished up a conversation with one of my co-workers who is also affected by the PlayStation Network currently being offline. For several minutes we discussed how (and if) Sony should reward users for lost time, and frustration.

I explained that Sony intends on paying customers back for their troubles with free PlayStation content that has yet to be officially announced as well as a free month of PlayStation Plus for both current Plus subscribers as well as non-paying users.

My coworker (an avid Call of Duty player) said that he didn’t care about getting a free month of PlayStation Plus and that “anything besides free access to the next Call of Duty map pack is Bullshit.”

While I don’t agree with his position, (I feel the free map pack will only benefit those playing Black Ops now and not all of the affected users), I am starting to doubt how sincere Sony is being with its “Welcome Back Program”

Without a doubt, I think Sony should try to save face and repay customers for this inconvenience (again, I don’t blame Sony for the hack at all, just how the situation was handled.) I think all PSN users should receive free content including, but not limited to, one free game. But this game has to be GOOD And cannot be just a throw-away game just so Sony can say “hey, we gave you a game for your troubles.”

I also feel like it would be smart if Sony announced what specific content they would be releasing for their customers. It will allow us to get excited and stay positive for once the PSN is restored and comes online (or bitch and complain in an attempt to get better or additional content)

My issue lies with the free month of PlayStation Plus for all users – an issue that I had, then quickly forgotten until the recent conversation with my coworker.

I’ve been a paying subscriber PlayStation Plus since day one. So for almost a year, Sony has taken my money and in turn provided me with additional content such as free and discounted games, early access to Betas etc.

Even during the current PlayStation Network outage, Sony has collected the money from me and the rest of the Plus subscribers, so why am I getting the same treatment as someone who hasn’t given Sony any additional money to become a member? Why is someone who hasn’t paid a dime to be a Plus subscriber, getting the same reward as someone who has paid for the since day one? I was going to get the month anyways because I’ve paid for it, now someone who hasn’t paid for it, is getting the same perks.

PlayStation Plus users showed their loyalty to Sony by purchasing an optional subscription plan and because they did so, that makes us premium customers, so why are we not getting additional premium customers? Why not give subscribers one additional piece of content to say “thanks for paying for something that did not work for x amount of time.”

I also can’t help but think that this is more of a marketing scheme than a welcome back program. All PlayStation users will receive one month of PlayStation Plus, which will give them access to a few free games for that month. The way that PlayStation Plus works, is that you are entitled to those free games, as long as you subscribe to the program. In other words, once that free month is over, if you wish to keep those games, you have to re-subscribe and pay for the membership.

I don’t think that I’m wrong in thinking that some current non-users will become new, paying users (and a new source of revenue) because they won’t want to lose the service and perks (ex. Games) that they get.

The topic of does Sony have to (or should they) reimburse PlayStation Network users has been played out. I am now asking with the vague announcement from Sony that all users will receive a yet-to-be-determine PlayStation contend as well as a free month of PlayStation Plus to reward users for their hassle and thank them for their patients.

Is the content Sony plans on releasing fair to all users – both paying and non-paying?

Is the content Sony plans on releasing to all users sufficient to compensate for the frustration and lack of service?

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

Sony finally revealed its "Welcome Back" content that will be offered to all PlayStation Network users.

Depending on where you live in the world, the some PSN features such as online gaming, access to 3rd party services such as Netflix, Hulu, MLB.tv, PlayStation Home etc. are now online after being offline for nearly four weeks. However, the PlayStation Store itself is still offline for the unforseen future.

When the PlayStation Store is finally available all existing members can aquire:

* Gamers can select two of the five following PlayStation 3 games:
- Dead Nation
- Infamous
- LittleBigPlanet
- Super Stardust HD (Australian and European gamers are going to get Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty in lieu of Super Stardust HD.)
- WipeOut HD + Fury

* Those with PSPs can also cop two of four following PSP games:
- LittleBigPlanet PSP
- ModNation Racers PSP
- Pursuit Force
- Killzone Liberation

* Additionally, the PlayStation faithful can look forward to the following:
- "A selection of 'On Us' rental movie titles" for use on a single weekend. The weekend in question and the titles available have yet to be determined.
- Non-PlayStation Plus subscribers get 30 free days of PlayStation Plus.
- Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers get 60 free days of PlayStation Plus.

MOD NOTE: TO answer questions that were asked about this but deleted as they are technically spam: it was posted on the official Playstation blog. The EU address is http://blog.eu.playstation.com/ and the American address is http://blog.us.playstation.com/

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

It's officially over.

After being offline for over a month, the PlayStation Store is back online.

A massive amount of content including some gamesl content has been added to the store and can be purchased and downloaded. More content is expected to arrive on Friday, June 3rd, and again next week.

Sony's 'Welcome Back' content is not yet available but is reported to be made available shortly.