On Saturday, April 23rd, 2011, I sent the following email to the address of Orange Lounge Radio, a podcast that airs live on the internet Sunday nights on allgames.com.
Dear Peoples,
Like you, I have been following the recent PSN outages since they started popping up on Wednesday night. When I first discovered these outages I was frustrated, raged out, and cursed so loud my neighbors thought I was killing someone. Not kidding.
Anyway, in the process of following this story, I found this story that I'm sure you covered earlier on in the show:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/sonys-playstation-network-hit-by-external-intrusion/12483
Once I read this story I became considerable less angry as I can understand Sony taking actions like this in response to this threat, to a point. However, there is one part of story that really concerns me.
"In order to “verify the smooth and secure operation” of the services Sony pulled the plug on both services April 20th."
This sentence gives me the impression that this isn't a simple hacking job. Given Sony's recent movements in relation to piracy, I believe that may be the nature of Sony taking down PSN. I believe someone figured out how to pirate games distributed digitally via PSN. Please feel free to tell me if any of these conclusions are wrong.
Also, why do I have to go through PSN or Live to access Hulu Plus or Netflix? I mean when I want to watch Hulu on my laptop all I have to do is fire up my browser, go through my ISP, and get to what I want to watch. I don't have to go through my laptop manufacture's exclusive network to access things, so why do I have to do it on home consoles?
Stay Black
Redertainment
This message has been brought to you by the successor to Anonmyous, who is actually responsible for PSN being shut down and is totally unknown to the public. Nya nya! :P
Sent from my iPad :P
This email was read live on the air on the 410th episode of Orange Lounge Radio, available via podcast right now. On Monday, this story broke:
Rumor: 'Rebug' custom firmware enabled 'free' PSN downloads, forced Sony's network shutdown
by Randy Nelson on Apr 25th 2011 6:05PM
According to PSX-Scene former moderator, "chesh," the now six-day-long PlayStation Network outage is the result of a particularly exploitative custom firmware (CFW) modification for PS3. In a post on Reddit, chesh claims that a CFW known as "Codename: Rebug" had given its users the ability to log into PSN as if they were doing so from a developer console (or "debug unit").
As a result, chesh contends, this same exploit allowed its users to add funds from "dummy" credit card accounts into their PSN wallets, ostensibly giving them the ability to "unlock" (read: steal) certain PlayStation Store content. Joystiq's research into the purported exploit has turned up multiple tutorials detailing the process, which appears alarmingly easy to execute on consoles running the Rebug CFW.
The hack does not allow its users to access the credit card or other personal information of PSN users, chesh adds. Nevertheless, as we reported earlier today, Sony is working to rule out information theft as part of its investigation during the maintenance outage in which the company is also implementing new security measures.
Sony has not yet responded to our request for comment on this story.
This sequence of events confirms one thing: I am a psychic!!! When I see things in my mind, they motherfucking happen! Since I am a psychic, and the things that I see happen, I am prepared to make a bold pronouncement that all of you should take to heart like the words of a prophet.
This is a leaked picture of what is supposed to be Nintendo's next console.
This is a leaked picture of what is supposed to be the controller for Nintendo's next console. I, the newly christened Hunter Ortiz El Red Samaritano, am here to tell you the truth of what lies in the future. These pictures are not real. These pictures are red herrings meant to lead the online public in a false direction. The rumors about the new controller are false, laughably so. Ha ha ha ha.
When Nintendo announces their new console, sometime in mid-May, it will be more powerful than the PS3 but will utilize DVDs, not those expensive Blu-Rays that benefit one of Nintendo's direct rivals. The design of the controller for Nintendo's next console will resemble the Gamecube controller. However, in a move that will not be as successful as Nintendo wants it to be, the Nintendo 3DS will be able to be used as a controller for Nintendo's next console. This capability will mainly be used for first party titles and will last for only three years.
Finally, Nintendo's next console will come into the market at the price of $400, in order to compete directly with the PS3, which, due to the clusterfuck that is the PSN outages, will drop in popularity never to recover.
As far as a name...
...
...
I got nothing. Try Miss Cleo. She might know the name of Nintendo's next console, as well as when your next hookup will be. Sparkles!
So, Just To Be Clear...
According to this, Sony Computer Entertainment of America first identified that there was a security breach and that user data might have been compromised on April 19th. From personal experience, I know PSN was shut down on the night of April 20. Finally, Sony confirmed that this security breach had happened, after being completely tight lipped about why they shut down PSN, on April 26th, a full week after the security breach happened. So...
WHAT THE FUCK TOOK THEM SO LONG TO TELL US THAT OUR, OUR, PERSONAL INFORMATION HAD BEEN COMPROMISED?
Do we not have the right to know exactly what someone is doing with our personal information? Do we not have a obligation to ensure that our personal information is being protected by those that we trust it to? And, if that trust is broken, how can we trust those people with our personal information again?
In short, I do not trust Sony with my personal information. When PSN goes back up, I will be deleting my account, completely. Not merely taking my credit card off my account, or filling the account with junk info, I will have the account deleted. I find that any other Sony division has my personal information, I will move to have that information removed from their possession as well. Furthermore, if SCEA continues to possess my personal information, no matter what that personal information is, for any reason, I will pursue legal action to have my personal information removed from their possession. Don't think I'm serious? These are my lawyers:
This is Ed Brass.
Look him up and learn why you don't fuck with Ed Brass.
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