Sony admits PSN outage due to hackers

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Sony has admitted that hackers are to blame for the PlayStation Network outage that began four days ago, and is yet to be resolved.

Players are still given error code 80710A06 when they try to access the online features, including multiplayer, of the PlayStation 3.

"An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services," Sony senior director of corporate communications and social media Patrick Seybold wrote on the PlayStation Blog.

"In order to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services going forward, we turned off PlayStation Network & Qriocity services on the evening of Wednesday, April 20th."

"We are doing all we can to resolve this situation quickly, and we once again thank you for your patience," he said.

The outage affects users worldwide, leaving many gamers disappointed over the Easter long weekend.

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News Article by: Ben 198675Kudos 24/04/2011 Ben
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Sony admits PSN outage due to hackers Comments

Nice way to turn the previous so called "heroes" into villians, Sony.
my god.. bloody hell.. geez some people.. its just a console why hack it? :(

Matteh said: Nice way to turn the previous so called "heroes" into villians, Sony.


+1 ...but i guess we cant tell that the same hackers that were responsible for the piracy issue are the same ones responsible for the psn issue so ...
Thanks to the hackers for wrecking the long weekend for us who wanted to play online =_=
Of all the weekends to do it, hunt them down and publicly flog them [Rage]
None of us actually KNOW truly whether it is hackers. It is quite possible this is purely a technical problem and Sony are trying to deflect blame.

To suggest you know thw truth is to be kidding yourself unless you are directly involved with fixing the problem ie a Sony employee or one of the alleged hackers.

If i was a Sony exec id rather blame hackers than admit our system is not only not working but we are unable to fix it for days and days.
needs online play [Rage]

way_maker said: None of us actually KNOW truly whether it is hackers. It is quite possible this is purely a technical problem and Sony are trying to deflect blame.
To suggest you know thw truth is to be kidding yourself unless you are directly involved with fixing the problem ie a Sony employee or one of the alleged hackers.
If i was a Sony exec id rather blame hackers than admit our system is not only not working but we are unable to fix it for days and days.



I don't think so. Admitting people can hack in and crash the network for 70 million users is terrible for the security issues they already have. A minor, one off, glitch would have sounded better. A similar thing happened to XBL a few years back and all networks eventually face something like this. Caused by hackers is worse IMO.

way_maker said: None of us actually KNOW truly whether it is hackers. It is quite possible this is purely a technical problem and Sony are trying to deflect blame.
To suggest you know thw truth is to be kidding yourself unless you are directly involved with fixing the problem ie a Sony employee or one of the alleged hackers.
If i was a Sony exec id rather blame hackers than admit our system is not only not working but we are unable to fix it for days and days.


You're correct, but I can't for the life of me see how it would just *stop* working after running basically without hitch for a handful of years. That's not to say it's impossible however, and you're right.. Only Sony knows.

Matteh said: Nice way to turn the previous so called "heroes" into villians, Sony.


Why are they heroes anyway? It's not Sony they're damaging, it's the players. [Facepalm]

Ben said:

way_maker said: None of us actually KNOW truly whether it is hackers. It is quite possible this is purely a technical problem and Sony are trying to deflect blame.
To suggest you know thw truth is to be kidding yourself unless you are directly involved with fixing the problem ie a Sony employee or one of the alleged hackers.
If i was a Sony exec id rather blame hackers than admit our system is not only not working but we are unable to fix it for days and days.


I don't think so. Admitting people can hack in and crash the network for 70 million users is terrible for the security issues they already have. A minor, one off, glitch would have sounded better. A similar thing happened to XBL a few years back and all networks eventually face something like this. Caused by hackers is worse IMO.




I disagree.

Most people are not tech wizards.

Far better to rouse peoples anger at unknown hackers than admit your own deficiency. Look at the initial responses on here- an expression of anger towards the hackers. This is going to create sympathy for Sony amongst the masses while a smaller number of people question their security. Most people just want to play games and arent going to care about security....im not saying that is a good thing.

And i also stress im not saying sony is lying, but none of us truly know.

way_maker said: None of us actually KNOW truly whether it is hackers. It is quite possible this is purely a technical problem and Sony are trying to deflect blame.
To suggest you know thw truth is to be kidding yourself unless you are directly involved with fixing the problem ie a Sony employee or one of the alleged hackers.
If i was a Sony exec id rather blame hackers than admit our system is not only not working but we are unable to fix it for days and days.



well unfortunately i think that people have to take what sony says for face value ,i understand that its far better (for sony) to blame hackers (if sony was at fault) but if people doubt what sony says then for what reason would people beleive they are lying?

...conspiracy threorist ?

DPkrass said:

way_maker said: None of us actually KNOW truly whether it is hackers. It is quite possible this is purely a technical problem and Sony are trying to deflect blame.
To suggest you know thw truth is to be kidding yourself unless you are directly involved with fixing the problem ie a Sony employee or one of the alleged hackers.
If i was a Sony exec id rather blame hackers than admit our system is not only not working but we are unable to fix it for days and days.


well unfortunately i think that people have to take what sony says for face value ,i understand that its far better (for sony) to blame hackers (if sony was at fault) but if people doubt what sony says then for what reason would people beleive they are lying?
...conspiracy threorist ?



Not at all. Historical precedent is littered with corporations lying to consumers to protect profits.

If lying about this would protect their brand reputation and profits, and given their aim is to make as much profit as possible then the logic of what i am saying is self explanatory.

lol ,yes i agree totaly on "some" corporations (infact its rampent) history but no one knows unless theres proof ,so...

"None of us actually KNOW truly whether it is hackers. It is quite possible this is purely a technical problem and Sony are trying to deflect blame"

"To suggest you know thw truth is to be kidding yourself unless you are directly involved"

all of which is very possible and im not saying its not but if theres absoluely no proof.... then unfortunatly thats a conspiracy theory.
I'd believe it was hackers but also agree it would be convenient to deflect blame as they saw consumers sympathy their way with that initial anonymous attack; stood to reason gamers would vilify the pricks on their shakey moral high horse if they did it again.

Also don't forget what happened when someone stole the HL2 source code... If you want to find out who is messing with you online, a group of pissed off gamers are a very good way of finding out. Was gamers that caught that guy...
Hackers who ruins ppls fun r dickheads.


That is all. [MOG]

LMA0 said: Hackers who ruins ppls fun r dickheads.



drink some beer instead =D
Plainly shows hackers are selfish
I enjoyed hacking the PSP Slim & Lite, but I've never ever bothered with PS3.

NFSGamer said: Plainly shows hackers are selfish



+1
I didn't believe that this whole 'Hackers' business was just a cover for server issues. [Shifty]

I knew wit was the hackers all along. [Shifty]

NFSGamer said: Plainly shows hackers are selfish


That's an incredibly large and unfair generalisation you've just made.
If Sony is telling us the truth , doesn't bode well for those who keep their records of their credits etc for purchasing on PSN... the credibility of a secure network isn't being notched down a tad.

I for one haven't been online with my playstation for a long time so I haven't personally been affected by this but it certainly isn't fair for those who do go on and has really put a screw in the online capabilities of this network. If it were done by hackers for whatever reasons they were trying to achieve, they certainly haven't won many hearts for it.
Remember that shit about those Hackers anonymous bet its them...
Hackers, anonymous call them whatever.
They are criminals and hope they are caught, sent to jail and butthurt.
Your tech wizardry won't save you in jail mr anonymous. Especially when mr 'hardened criminal' wants some loving. No hacking out of that dungeon master.

punk said: If Sony is telling us the truth , doesn't bode well for those who keep their records of their credits etc for purchasing on PSN... the credibility of a secure network isn't being notched down a tad.


That's already been shot to pieces. Sony may as well be transmitting your credit card details by megaphone. Not long ago, a group, out of sheer curiosity and a desire to expose Sony's lack of decent encryption, quite easily tapped in to their very public transmissions of this data and were able to log (amongst other things) the PSN ID, password, and credit card details of everybody who performed a transaction at that time. I can only hope they've tightened things up since then. PM me for a link or Google it if you're doubtful.

truecolour said: Remember that shit about those Hackers anonymous bet its them...


It's not. It sounds more like a few mercenaries with skills and determination that go far beyond the easily-bored script-kiddies in Anonymous. Even if these people were part of the first wave of attacks, as soon as they go out on their own like this, without any discussion or approval, their actions are no longer representative of Anonymous. Anon already said that no more of their attacks would allow end users to be inconvenienced like the first, so it's virtually impossible that this would have been permitted.

On a side note, hats off to them if indeed this is the work of hackers. That's one hell of an effort.... but it sure is a pain in the arse on the Easter long weekend!
Hats off to them? What because they succeeded? Are you really that out of touch? This has caused nothing but hassle, disrupted aol of us PS3 users and SONY. And you are congratulating them? So what if they succeeded, what they did was wrong, so no one should be congratulating them. What a joke.
You know who else succeeded, the 9/11 terrorist. Hats of to them to? What they did was totally wrong but they succeeded so by you logic.
I know you will write some response trying to defend/justify these hackers actions but no one cares, no one believes they are doing good except the small minority like yourself.
Go spread your love of these wankers on 4chan. No one here should be congratulating them.
Sony need a decent Firewall. :P
I wonder how long it'll take them to get the servers back online. :P

Harry said:
Why are they heroes anyway? It's not Sony they're damaging, it's the players.



It's how most gamers saw them, they saw the hackers as the heroes as they were allowing the gamers to do what they want with their console. By Sony saying this, that whole perception of the hackers has been flipped.

Matteh said:

Harry said:
Why are they heroes anyway? It's not Sony they're damaging, it's the players.


It's how most gamers saw them, they saw the hackers as the heroes as they were allowing the gamers to do what they want with their console. By Sony saying this, that whole perception of the hackers has been flipped.


Matteh, those were different hackers doing a different thing completely :P
@DonnieK
Yes, I lack the skills or know-how to do what they've done, so whilst I am annoyed that they've put their skills to use in a way that negatively impacts me, I can't help being impressed. This is Sony, and they've shut down their servers for days. That's one hell of an effort!
And yes, I also have immense respect for "terrorists". I think they are morons for having such strong religious beliefs, and are truly horrible for hurting others the way they do, but I also have a great amount of respect and admiration for anyone willing to die for what they believe in. To plan and execute their plans as well as they do, and to have such a strong global impact is undeniably impressive.

Note that I didn't explicitly endorse what these hackers have done, just as I wouldn't endorse the actions of "terrorists" (I hate that label). These hackers, if indeed they are responsible (I'm not yet convinced) are reckless mercenaries, and I wish that they had used their skills in a better way. I said it's a pain in the arse, and it is... Yet I appreciate the fact that they have embarrassed the hell out of Sony due to their incompetence. Just like you, though, I'd much rather have PSN for the weekend :'(
@puhm. Thanks for the mature and respectful reply. I really mean that.
First time in such a long time someone has replied to such a controversial issue with respect while still 'getting there point across'
:D

Harry said:

Matteh said:

Harry said:
Why are they heroes anyway? It's not Sony they're damaging, it's the players.


It's how most gamers saw them, they saw the hackers as the heroes as they were allowing the gamers to do what they want with their console. By Sony saying this, that whole perception of the hackers has been flipped.


Matteh, those were different hackers doing a different thing completely



How do we know they're different? All they have said is "hackers". It might not be, but seeming that group of hackers were successful in the past, one could assume it's the same group.
@Matteh

It's because there are literally thousands of faithful elite anonymous followers...some of them are more deadlier than anonymous themselves.
thats some serious shit
[Facepalm] [Facepalm]
LMAO, drones believing what they're told to believe by the people who want their money. =D

Skelerax said: LMAO, drones believing what they're told to believe by the people who want their money.


I saw a comment from one clever internet-dweller pointing out that there are some peculiar posts popping up on the Playstation forums... His point was that whilst it seems nobody he knows can even sign in because of this "maintenance", curiously there are plenty of posts popping up from people condemning the hackers and seeming to very deliberately divert responsibility away from Sony themselves. Are these genuine disgruntled gamers, or just Sony's marketing team? ;)
lol, i commend the hackers personally. i dont agree with methods that impact users, like this single attack (however its claimed to be a different group than Anonymous)

however i do believe what they stand for, in that owning a product allows you to do whatever you want with it. Hacking and pirating are incredibly different, and its about time the damn companies understood that.
Well if it is server issues, it's odd that for the first time in 4-5 years that there has been an issue for the PSN that has lasted over 3 days now. And Sony has before admitted to server problems publically and apologized for the inconvenience, so why would they all of a sudden start denying the faults of their own system? It doesn't make any sense. If you do think Sony is trying to cover themselves up (I wouldn't think of them any worse as a company if they were having trouble maintaining servers for a few days) then you really are grasping at straws.


I saw this a couple of days ago. This is so stupid if its true. Sony dont owe anything to you. You buy their product and are expected to just play games and do other ps3 stuff SAFELY. You’re not even allowed to hack their systems. You take it the ps3 as it is. No hacks. You creating hacks then complaining about them is your own fault. Quit being stupid angry nerds and go outside from your mothers basement and get some lives.

Ruining the fun of hundreds of thousands of gamers is stupid. You're proving nothing. Sony will win in the end. They get highly paid people to fix all these bugs. I hope sony actually find all these hackers and properly prosecute them. I just want to play my ps3 online without having to worry about stupid viruses.

Dino said:
I saw this a couple of days ago. This is so stupid if its true. Sony dont owe anything to you. You buy their product and are expected to just play games and do other ps3 stuff SAFELY. You’re not even allowed to hack their systems. You take it the ps3 as it is. No hacks. You creating hacks then complaining about them is your own fault. Quit being stupid angry nerds and go outside from your mothers basement and get some lives.
Ruining the fun of hundreds of thousands of gamers is stupid. You're proving nothing. Sony will win in the end. They get highly paid people to fix all these bugs. I hope sony actually find all these hackers and properly prosecute them. I just want to play my ps3 online without having to worry about stupid viruses.


I don't know how to say you're ignorant in a way thats 1000x more insulting, so I'll just leave it like that.

Sony do owe us something. They owe us privacy, they owe us our consoles. The way they're treating console hackers is wrong based solely off one single principle, when you buy something you own it. Sony in no way, have a say over what we do with, what we say, and what we share freely.

You seem to miss a lot, so it's probably pointless to explain it all to you though, but since I'm stubborn, here it goes.

"You buy their prodct and are expected to just play games and do other ps3 stuff SAFELY."

I don't one hundred percent understand what you're trying to get at by this statement. Sony can expect whatever the hell they want, when they sell something, I.e (just in case you don't know) an exchange of money for a product, they no longer own a product. There is no such thing as 'terms of service' on a product, because its a product, not a service they deliver.

When you buy anything else, you can do whatever you want with it, within the constraints of the law, the law being that you don't use it for illegal gain or the injustice of others. Neither of those things are crossed when HACKING a console. They are crossed when PIRATING.

Not many people at all are complaining about the hacks we created? I don't understand you, it's like you put a whole bunch of words in a hat then pulled them out randomly, lucky enough to form an almost legible sentence.

Telling us to stop being angry nerds, etc etc, shows a narrow minded ignorance that annoys me more than anything. I think a person is trash the instant they start insulting a way a person lives when they are not hurting others. Now I foresee a rebuttle of "but the hackers are hurting others by causing downtime of servers and privacy issues", but it's not the case. Sony has chosen the downtime on their own.

Sony is the one ruining the fun of gamers, not the hackers (who actually allow gamers more freedom in their consoles).

The viruses were caused by a seperate group than the ones responsible for hacks. They broke off from the main group and Anonymous doesn't claim responsibility.
good thing you don't have to buy their crap hey swordsaint and you can buy the hackers console... oh wait...

I dont agree with everything sony does or any big corporation for that matter but sometimes I don't find it detrimental enough to spasm over. Sure sony could be more open but its not like Nintendo Or MS are that much different

punk said: good thing you don't have to buy their crap hey swordsaint and you can buy the hackers console.


good thing you're an idiot hey punk and that once sony have sold their console its no longer 'their' console.

swordsaint said:

punk said: good thing you don't have to buy their crap hey swordsaint and you can buy the hackers console.


good thing you're an idiot hey punk and that once sony have sold their console its no longer 'their' console.



lol i think i struck a nerve hey? I don't care what you do with that console of yours bad boy.

punk said:

swordsaint said:

punk said: good thing you don't have to buy their crap hey swordsaint and you can buy the hackers console.


good thing you're an idiot hey punk and that once sony have sold their console its no longer 'their' console.


lol i think i struck a nerve hey? I don't care what you do with that console of yours bad boy.


not really i was just responding with an equal amount of sarcasm.

punk said: good thing you don't have to buy their crap hey swordsaint and you can buy the hackers console... oh wait...
I dont agree with everything sony does or any big corporation for that matter but sometimes I don't find it detrimental enough to spasm over. Sure sony could be more open but its not like Nintendo Or MS are that much different


This wrapped it up perfectly.
If you don't like Sony's rules, don't give them your money.
Easy really.
Hacking <3

swordsaint said:
good thing you're an idiot hey punk and that once sony have sold their console its no longer 'their' console.



Not according to the terms and conditions [MOG]

malaka said:

swordsaint said:
good thing you're an idiot hey punk and that once sony have sold their console its no longer 'their' console.


Not according to the terms and conditions


Which are contradicted by laws, at least out here in Australia. A new one was instated this year that's an interesting read if you're ever interested. The competition and consumer act 2010.

malaka said:

swordsaint said:
good thing you're an idiot hey punk and that once sony have sold their console its no longer 'their' console.


Not according to the terms and conditions


EULAs don't transcend the law. In many respects, it couldn't matter less what Sony's terms say I can and can't do. If they say I can't smash my PS3 with a hammer and take a shit on its remains then too bad, I'm completely within my rights to do so.

Puhm said:

malaka said:

swordsaint said:
good thing you're an idiot hey punk and that once sony have sold their console its no longer 'their' console.


Not according to the terms and conditions


EULAs don't transcend the law. In many respects, it couldn't matter less what Sony's terms say I can and can't do. If they say I can't smash my PS3 with a hammer and take a shit on its remains then too bad, I'm completely within my rights to do so.


Where have you been all my life? Sony admits PSN outage due to hackers

Puhm said:
EULAs don't transcend the law. In many respects, it couldn't matter less what Sony's terms say I can and can't do. If they say I can't smash my PS3 with a hammer and take a shit on its remains then too bad, I'm completely within my rights to do so.



Sony is the perfect company that has transcended both Hollow and Shinigami! A torrent of money capable of distorting the law itself!! A being such as you cannot even begin to comprehend their power, Kurosaki Ichigo! [Rage]

Sony admits PSN outage due to hackers
**** these hackers, the assholes needs to get a life. I hope they get caught and locked up in jail forever. They are attacking ordinary gamers like you, me and everyone else.
Force Lightning those hackers!!! [Rage]

LMA0 said: Hackers who ruins ppls fun r dickheads.


Absolutelmondo my friend. Whether these "IT" groups such as Anonymous are actually responsible or not is still being debated. However, the introduction of and use of hacks in games is a blight and is ruining online gaming for true fans. At the end of all of this, however, I'd hope that Sony will get serious about booting hackers. [Rage]

JoshX999 said:
That is all.



ahem,
www.escapistmagazine.com/...

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