According to Patrick Klepek, who has been following up with this story:
Update4: Since PlayStation Network is down, there are some games rendered completely unplayable, notably Sony Online Entertainment’s DC Universe Online and Free Realms. Both are online-only games, which means the lack of PSN puts a whole world of hurt on anyone’s ability to grind towards saving the world. SOE sent an apologetic note to all players last night, which it passed onto me this afternoon: “We apologize for any inconvenience players may have experienced as a result of the recent service interruption,” said the company. “As a global leader in online gaming, SOE is committed to delivering stable and entertaining games for players of all ages. To thank players for their patience, we will be hosting special events this weekend across our game portfolio, including a Double Station Cash day on Saturday, April 30th. We are also working on a ‘make good’ plan for players of the PS3 versions of DC Universe Online and Free Realms. Details will be available soon on the individual game websites and forums. ” Update 3: Valve has just told me that anyone who connected their PlayStation Network account to Steam via Portal 2 should not be worried, either. “Steam has nothing to do with the PSN outage,” said the company in the statement.
Update 2: Regarding rumors Sony may have notified banks days ahead of disclosing today’s revelations to the public, I have since contacted customer service representatives at both Bank of America and Chase. I personally have accounts at both financial firms and the representatives claimed to have received no information from Sony about a mass breach of credit information.
Update: For those who were asking, Sony has just confirmed to me there is currently no way to determine what password you were/are using on PSN. If you’re worried at all, you should probably change your password used across the Internet.
Some users have suggested counting the number of “stars” in your saved password as a way to help determine what password you may have been using to access PSN. It’s a start.
Patrick also confirmed to me that there is NO difference between PS3 and PSP online. So anyone that has never used the PS3 but has entered information on the PSP online is at risk, as well.
———————————————————————————————————-
As anyone that owns and regularly plays their PS3 will tell you, this outage has been annoying. Well now it went from annoying to down right legally trying. Best advice I can give is if you have a PSN account as well as a XBL accout, hit up Xbox.com and CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD! Do it right now. This is not a drill, things have gone from bad to really REALLY fucking bad.
Straight from the Playstation blog. Here are the details, and you’ll notice the line that says “if you use your PSN user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them, as well.” … AKA REALLY BAD!
Thank you for your patience while we work to resolve the current outage of PlayStation Network & Qriocity services. We are currently working to send a similar message to the one below via email to all of our registered account holders regarding a compromise of personal information as a result of an illegal intrusion on our systems. These malicious actions have also had an impact on your ability to enjoy the services provided by PlayStation Network and Qriocity including online gaming and online access to music, movies, sports and TV shows. We have a clear path to have PlayStation Network and Qriocity systems back online, and expect to restore some services within a week. We’re working day and night to ensure it is done as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience and feedback. Valued PlayStation Network/Qriocity Customer: We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network. In response to this intrusion, we have:
Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services;
Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and
Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure by re-building our system to provide you with greater protection of your personal information. We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and efficiently as practicable. Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained. For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them, as well. To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports. We are providing the following information for those who wish to consider it: U.S. residents are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228. We have also provided names and contact information for the three major U.S. credit bureaus below. At no charge, U.S. residents can have these credit bureaus place a “fraud alert” on your file that alerts creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity prior to granting credit in your name. This service can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name. Note, however, that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, it also may delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your identity. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others are notified to place fraud alerts on your file. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, or should you have any questions regarding your credit report, please contact any one of the agencies listed below. Experian: 888-397-3742; www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013 Equifax: 800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 TransUnion: 800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790 You may wish to visit the web site of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or reach the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect yourself from identity theft. Your state Attorney General may also have advice on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General, and the FTC. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; telephone (877) 566-7226; or www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; telephone: (888) 743-0023; orwww.oag.state.md.us. We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority. Please contact us at 1-800-345-7669 should you have any additional questions. Sincerely, Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment
According to Patrick Klepek, who has been following up with this story:
Update 3: Valve has just told me that anyone who connected their PlayStation Network account to Steam via Portal 2 should not be worried, either. “Steam has nothing to do with the PSN outage,” said the company in the statement.
Update 2: Regarding rumors Sony may have notified banks days ahead of disclosing today’s revelations to the public, I have since contacted customer service representatives at both Bank of America and Chase. I personally have accounts at both financial firms and the representatives claimed to have received no information from Sony about a mass breach of credit information.
Update: For those who were asking, Sony has just confirmed to me there is currently no way to determine what password you were/are using on PSN. If you’re worried at all, you should probably change your password used across the Internet.
Some users have suggested counting the number of “stars” in your saved password as a way to help determine what password you may have been using to access PSN. It’s a start.
Patrick also confirmed to me that there is NO difference between PS3 and PSP online. So anyone that has never used the PS3 but has entered information on the PSP online is at risk, as well.
Comments