Sony Hacked Again - Competency Questioned

This was published on Technorati.com
http://technorati.com/technology/article/sony-hacked-again-competency-questioned/ Published: May 21, 2011 at 1:59 pm

April 20th, 2011, the day the nightmare began for Sony, and it's still ongoing.

However, millions of PlayStation users have started to realize, it's not a game anymore. Suddenly, the question has gone from "When can I play my game again" to "What has happened to my personal information?".

The Sony PlayStation Network and Qriocity music streaming service have been shut down since the 20th of April, when the breach was detected. Hackers stole personal details belonging to 77 million users including names, addresses, email addresses, birth dates and passwords.

Increasingly, Sony has been coming under fire for competency, and even outright negligence with regards to their handling and safekeeping of user's private information. For example, when Mr. Bruce Schneier, chief security technology officer at BT (British Telecom) and a world expert on cryptography, was asked if Sony should have known better, he said “definitely”.

While it is easy to point fingers and blame Sony, there is an equally important point that it seems everyone is missing entirely. I don't hear anyone blaming the hacker(s) for bringing down the service and inconveniencing millions of fellow generation game players in the first place. PlayStation Network users are angry and frustrated at Sony for having the network down for so long,. Why can't they realize it wouldn't have been down at all if hackers hadn't ruined it for them. Certainly, Sony should have done things differently, that is an absolute, indisputable fact, but that doesn't excuse the hacker(s) actions and give them a green light.

Let's look at this a moment. Literally, one or more individuals took it upon themselves to knowingly break into a system to take things, personal information and details for their own personal gain, and no one is putting up a fuss against the hacker(s). Where is the logic in that?

That is the same as ME breaking into YOUR home, stealing something, and the police blame you for not locking your door securely.

The fact is, there is an ongoing cyber war between hackers and IT network security professionals. Ask any of them, on either side, they will tell you there is no such thing as hacker proof.

Just a few days ago, (May 18, 2011) in order to prevent and defend against just such attacks, the State of Israel created "The National Cybernetic Taskforce" to secure the country against hacking attacks on its key networks, and boost the competitiveness of local industries specializing in high-tech security".

Going forward, Sony needs to invest in, and implement much stronger network security methods. As we see, hacking afflicts us all with an extra price to pay. Sony has to pay to beef up security, and that takes away investing in new games. Now, players may have to wait a little longer for the next new release, but they will be safer and secure.