Sony Attacked Anonymous And Immediately Regretted it

Summary

In 2011, Sony PlayStation Network faced a massive cyber attack, leading to a month-long outage and putting 77 million users' data at risk. Hacker George Hotz's jailbreaking of the PS3 ignited the conflict, prompting Sony's legal retaliation. This escalated into Anonymous targeting Sony, culminating in the unprecedented data breach. The incident spotlighted corporate vs. consumer rights, online security vulnerabilities, and the power of hacker collectives, resulting in significant financial losses and regulatory changes for Sony.

Takeaways

• 😀 GeoHot, a young hacker, gained fame for being the first to jailbreak the iPhone, allowing it to be used with any carrier.
• 🔒 Sony PlayStation Network (PSN) was hacked in 2011, leading to a significant data breach affecting 77 million subscribers.
• 💻 The hack exposed personal information, including passwords and potentially credit card details, causing a loss of confidence in Sony's online security.
• 📉 The incident led to a drop in Sony's stock value and a class action lawsuit seeking compensation for affected customers.
• 🚨 Sony's legal actions against GeoHot, including a lawsuit for hacking the PS3, escalated tensions and drew the attention of the hacker group Anonymous.
• 👥 Anonymous retaliated against Sony's legal actions by launching cyber-attacks, taking down Sony's websites and eventually leading to the PSN breach.
• 🚨 The PSN hack was a turning point, highlighting the vulnerability of large corporations to determined hacker groups and the importance of consumer data protection.
• 💸 Sony's response to the breach included offering free services and games to customers, but the damage to their reputation and the industry's trust was significant.
• 📚 The event underscored the need for robust cybersecurity measures and the potential consequences of corporate actions that prioritize proprietary rights over consumer rights.
• 🌐 The hack had global repercussions, with investigations launched by the U.S. Congress and the UK Information Commissioner's Office into Sony's handling of the situation.

Q & A

What event occurred on April 20th, 2011 that affected Sony PlayStation Network?

On April 20th, 2011, the Sony PlayStation Network was taken down by a mysterious force, leading to a significant outage and security breach.

Who is Geo Hotz and what is his significance in the story?

Geo Hotz, also known online as Geohot, is a prolific hacker and a central figure in the story. He gained notoriety for being the first person to jailbreak an iPhone and later for hacking the PS3, which led to a legal battle with Sony.

What was the motivation behind Geo Hotz hacking the PS3?

Geo Hotz was motivated to hack the PS3 due to a personal challenge and the desire to override the console's limitations, turning it from a single-purpose gaming device into a more versatile computer.

How did Sony respond to Geo Hotz's hacking of the PS3?

Sony responded by issuing a corrective patch to stop other hackers from exploiting the system's weakness and later sued Geo Hotz for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and facilitating copyright infringement.

What role did the hacker group Anonymous play in the events following Geo Hotz's legal troubles with Sony?

Anonymous, a hacker collective, took action against Sony in response to their legal actions against Geo Hotz and other hackers. They launched cyberattacks, including taking down Sony's websites and the PlayStation Network.

What was the outcome of the cyberattack on the PlayStation Network?

The cyberattack on the PlayStation Network resulted in a significant data breach, affecting 77 million subscriber accounts, and led to the network being taken down for nearly a month, causing millions of subscribers to live with the threat of identity theft.

What actions did Sony take to address the data breach and regain customer trust?

Sony took actions such as providing insurance for credit card fraud or identity theft, offering a month of free service to PSN Plus subscribers, and allowing gamers to choose two free games. They also faced investigations and potential legal actions from various government bodies.

How did the events impact Sony's business and reputation?

The events led to a significant loss of trust and confidence in Sony, with shares dropping and the company facing legal and financial repercussions. However, they managed to recover and continue growing their PSN subscriber base.

What were the broader implications of the PlayStation Network hack on the gaming and online commerce industries?

The hack underscored the importance of robust cybersecurity measures in the gaming industry and highlighted the potential risks of online commerce. It led to new regulations and a reevaluation of data protection practices across industries.

What was the final resolution of the legal dispute between Geo Hotz and Sony?

Geo Hotz reached a settlement agreement with Sony, agreeing never to hack another PS3 or any of their other products. Despite this, the actions of Anonymous and the subsequent data breach led to further legal and public scrutiny of Sony.

Outlines

00:00

😎 The Rise of Geohot and the PlayStation Network Hack

The script begins with the recounting of the 2011 hack on Sony's PlayStation Network, which left millions of users vulnerable to identity theft. It delves into the background of George Hotz, a prodigious hacker known as Geohot, who gained notoriety for being the first to jailbreak the iPhone. Despite his intelligence and early achievements, including appearances on television and a stint at Google, Hotz became bored and returned to his hacking roots. The narrative sets the stage for the challenges he faced with Sony's PS3, hinting at the broader implications of his actions on the tech industry and the legal battles that ensued.

05:01

🎮 Hacking the PS3: Geohot's New Challenge

This section details Geohot's audacious attempt to hack the PS3, a feat that had eluded the tech community. The PS3, with its advanced hardware, was a challenge that Geohot took on after a period of retirement from hacking. His success in hacking the PS3, turning it from a gaming console into a multi-purpose computer, is described. The paragraph also discusses the community's reaction, Sony's legal response, and Geohot's subsequent release of a patch to prevent piracy, reflecting his complex role as both a hacker and a figure of contention within the tech world.

10:03

🚨 Sony's Legal Battle and Anonymous'介入

The script narrates the escalation of the conflict between Geohot and Sony, leading to a lawsuit where Sony accused Geohot of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. It discusses the public's reaction, the debate over consumer rights, and the involvement of the hacker group Anonymous. This group, known for its vigilante hacking, targeted Sony in response to their legal actions against Geohot, culminating in a series of cyber-attacks and threats. The narrative captures the tension between corporate power, individual rights, and the anarchic nature of online activism.

15:03

🔒 The PlayStation Network Outage and Data Breach

This part of the script describes the aftermath of Anonymous' threats, leading to a significant data breach within Sony's PlayStation Network. It details the sequence of events, including the mysterious server reboots, the eventual acknowledgment of a security breach, and the subsequent shutdown of the PlayStation Network. The narrative underscores the confusion and lack of transparency from Sony, the growing public concern, and the potential exposure of sensitive user data, highlighting the severity of the situation and its impact on consumer trust.

20:04

📉 The Fallout: Legal and Financial Repercussions

The final paragraph outlines the extensive consequences Sony faced following the data breach. It includes the financial impact, with a drop in stock value and a class-action lawsuit filed against the company. The script also covers the regulatory investigations by the U.S. Congress and the UK's Information Commissioner's Office, which found Sony lacking in their data protection measures. Despite the damage to their reputation and the measures taken to compensate affected customers, the narrative concludes with the ironic observation that Sony continued to grow, raising questions about whether meaningful lessons were learned from the incident.

Keywords

💡Hacking

Hacking refers to the act of exploiting vulnerabilities in computer systems or networks with the intent to gain unauthorized access or control. In the context of the video, hacking is central to the narrative, as it involves individuals like George Hotz and groups like Anonymous using hacking to challenge corporate control over technology. The video illustrates hacking through the story of Hotz's jailbreaking of the iPhone and PS3, and Anonymous's attack on Sony's PlayStation Network.

💡George Hotz

George Hotz, also known as Geohot, is a prominent figure in the tech world known for his hacking and engineering skills. The video highlights his early achievements, such as being the first to jailbreak an iPhone, and his subsequent legal battles with tech giants like Sony. Hotz's story exemplifies the tension between individual innovation and corporate control over technology.

💡Jailbreaking

Jailbreaking is the process of removing software restrictions imposed by the device manufacturer, allowing users to gain root access and install unauthorized software. In the video, jailbreaking is showcased through Hotz's modification of the iPhone, enabling it to work with any carrier. This act symbolizes a challenge to the封闭式 ecosystems maintained by tech companies.

💡Anonymous

Anonymous is a loosely associated international group of activist and hacker entities that is known for its cyberattacks on various institutions, including governments and corporations. The video narrates how Anonymous targeted Sony in response to its legal actions against George Hotz, highlighting the collective's role in advocating for hacker rights and consumer freedom.

💡PlayStation Network (PSN)

The PlayStation Network is an online service by Sony for its PlayStation gaming consoles, providing online gaming, music, and video streaming services. The video details the 2011 outage of PSN due to a hacking attack, which led to a significant data breach affecting millions of users. This incident underscores the vulnerability of online services and the importance of robust cybersecurity measures.

💡Data Breach

A data breach occurs when unauthorized individuals gain access to sensitive information, often resulting in the exposure of personal data. The video recounts the PSN data breach, which compromised the personal and financial information of millions of users, emphasizing the severe consequences of inadequate security measures in the digital age.

💡Homebrew

Homebrew refers to unofficial software or modifications created by hobbyists, often for gaming consoles. In the video, the term is used in relation to the modification of the PS3 to run unauthorized software, which was a key point of contention between Sony and the hacking community. The concept of homebrewing highlights the ongoing debate over user rights to modify and use technology as they see fit.

💡Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity involves the protection of computer systems and networks from digital attacks. The video underscores the importance of cybersecurity through the narrative of the PSN hack, which exposed the vulnerabilities of Sony's systems and the potential risks to user data when such protections are lacking.

💡Legal Battle

A legal battle refers to a dispute resolved through a court of law. The video details the legal conflict between George Hotz and Sony, which escalated from a technological disagreement to a full-blown legal confrontation. This aspect of the video illustrates the intersection of law and technology, as well as the challenges in regulating emerging tech landscapes.

💡Vigilante Hacking

Vigilante hacking is the act of hacking into computer systems or networks to enforce what the hacker perceives as justice. The video describes how Anonymous engaged in vigilante hacking against Sony as a form of protest against what they saw as corporate overreach. This concept raises ethical questions about the legitimacy and consequences of such actions.

💡Digital Rights

Digital rights pertain to the freedoms and privileges of individuals in the digital age, including the right to privacy, free speech, and the ability to use technology without undue restrictions. The video discusses digital rights in the context of the conflict between tech companies' control over their products and consumers' desire for open, modifiable technology.

Highlights

On April 20th, 2011, the Sony PlayStation Network was taken down by a mysterious force.

The incident led to a brutal fight between Sony and its customers, with millions facing identity theft threats.

Anonymous and hacker GeoHot were implicated in the background of the network's takedown.

The aftermath resulted in over 171 million dollars in losses and new regulations for online commerce.

GeoHot, a young hacker, became a symbol for the movement against restrictive device measures.

GeoHot's first major hack was the iPhone, making it carrier-unlocked at the age of 17.

His early life was marked by a curiosity that led him to hack into various devices.

GeoHot's iPhone hack made him the first person to jailbreak the device, causing a stir in the tech world.

He later moved to Silicon Valley to work for Google but found the corporate structure too rigid.

A challenge to hack the PS3 reignited GeoHot's passion for hacking.

GeoHot successfully hacked the PS3, turning it into a desktop computer and sharing the method online.

Sony responded with a corrective patch, leading to a game of cat and mouse with hackers.

GeoHot's hack made him a divisive figure, both celebrated and vilified within the tech community.

Sony sued GeoHot for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and copyright infringement.

Anonymous entered the conflict, launching cyber-attacks against Sony in support of GeoHot.

The group's actions against Sony escalated, leading to a significant data breach of 77 million PSN accounts.

Sony's handling of the breach led to a loss of confidence, legal actions, and investigations by the U.S. Congress and UK's Information Commissioner's Office.

Despite the scandal, Sony recovered and grew its PSN subscriber base, raising questions about whether they learned from the incident.

Transcripts

on April 20th 2011 a mysterious Force

took down Sony PlayStation Network and

curiosity after months of a brutal fight

between the conglomerate and its

customers millions of subscribers

worldwide lived with the threat of

identity theft for almost a month while

the culprits remained at large and

lurking in the background of it all was

the network known as Anonymous and one

of the most prolific hackers of the

Modern Age a man called geohot when the

dust settled over 171 million dollars

would be lost and a slew of new

regulations would forever change online

Commerce this is the story of the

PlayStation Network hack

30 measures on these device is great

good for them but if we want to come in

and we want to remove these security

measures so we can do legal things with

our devices and I think we have every

right to and I guess that's my cost to

understand the events let's look at

young Haka who put a face till movement

George hotz known online of course as

Geo hot at the end of June 2007 Apple

made history with their new product the

iPhone the mobile device that

revolutionized communication and cell

phones I mean think about pre-iphone we

carried around some real goofy looking

products before this came along there

was one small problem if you were

located in the United States and wanted

to take part of the digital Bliss of

Apple's Flagship product you had to use

a t as your service provider this didn't

sit right with 17 year old George hotz

he wanted the phone of course everybody

did but he didn't want to give up his

affordable T-Mobile plan so what could

this kid do about it first off Hots

wasn't any ordinary teen at this point

in his early life he was already an

accomplished engineer and Tech Guru that

had been featured on shows like today

with Katie Couric and despite his young

years he was running circles around his

seniors with such a keen mind for Tech

in a rebellious Street to go with it

George made a decision instead of being

forced to switch networks the New Jersey

native took a Precision screwdriver and

guitar pick to pop open the back of his

iPhone and got to work for him it was

simple he just had to override the

commands to the baseband processor by

soldering a chip to the wire and

scrambling its code then he created a

program on his PC to allow the iPhone to

use any carrier and installed the

software in less than three months

Hearts reverse engineered the device it

took years to build he became the first

person to jailbreak an iPhone and

despite his high level of intelligence

he then did what any other teenager

would do published the victory on

YouTube

the tech World went wild while Steve

Jobs for once had very little to say

Steve Wozniak Apple co-founder and

actual genius depending on who you ask

praise tots calling him a creative

instead of a criminal for the next few

years geohart became the darling of the

Haka Community putting out videos and

jailbreaking iPhones without any

Challenge from the industry leader some

thought he was doing the tech Giants a

favor since more people might buy the

phone without switching networks and

perhaps this was true this gave our

young Prodigy a history of ripping

things open and making them work the way

he wanted which often wasn't the way the

Creator intended even before the iPhone

he was doing this just in his life out

of curiosity in an interview with his

father he said that the kid would

constantly rip open remote controls and

appliances to just learn how they worked

as a student he hacked his school

computers to play Beethoven's Ninth it

seemed by all accounts hot sad from an

early age one of the most valuable

assets a human can possess an insatiable

curiosity

and now he had the whole internet

encouraging him to go to the next level

the donations from his iPhone jailbreak

program gave him enough money to fund a

cross-country Trek from the east coast

to the Google headquarters in California

the young Hots dropped out of college to

follow the path of every Tech leader to

stake out his claim in the wild west

known as Silicon Valley

but it didn't take long for boredom to

set in while Google might have been

quirky compared to other jobs it was

still a rigid corporate structure one

that didn't exact someone with George's

abilities he was now done with the

internet Fame and attention from

jailbreaking now done with Google too

and he moved back home to Jersey

announcing his retirement from hacking

phones it was the end of an era but

rarely just like the iPhone Potts was

about to upgrade

as he got home he received a package

containing a simple challenge hack the

PS3 to this point he'd been successful

and comfortable living off his exploits

for the past few years but that was the

problem he was comfortable and clearly

nothing bothered George quite like

living in safety he made a career out of

risk and this challenge lit the fire

back in his soul so in 2010 the hacker

announced his glorious return with his

new goal to hack the PS3 at this stage

in 2010 Seventh Generation video game

consoles were considered appliances The

Big Three Nintendo Wii Microsoft Xbox

360 and Sony Playstation 3 were brand

names as big as Coke and Pepsi you're

almost expected to have one of the big

three available in your home but for the

hardcore gaming crowd having a piece of

equipment as is wouldn't cut it the tech

inside the consoles was much more

sophisticated than ever before but the

secrets within belong to manufacturers

the machines were impressive but they

were were artificially limited enter the

home Brewer part attacker part

programmer these people blurred the

lines between PC and console Gamers they

hacked the hardware to access hidden

features and run pirated copies of games

or backups as they were called they

could also mod games create background

themes and make consoles another

computer essentially but until now the

PS3 remained untouched even in this

Elite community so with the gauntlet

thrown down pots returned to the tools

that made him Infamous his screwdriver

and soldering iron he labored into the

late night for over five weeks creating

a string of code 500 lines long on his

PC if this code worked then his screen

would flash zero if it didn't it would

display five

this was the moment was all Bluster

always hot to the real thing it began

the sequence and held his breath

the screen flashed he waited seconds

stretched or naturally and then he got

his answer the screen flashed again with

the single number zero

he had done the impossible again and

just like before he went online to

flaunt the accomplishment no video this

time just a single line of text I have

hacked the PS3 he called these massive

code Finnegan's wake and distribute the

instructions online for others to

replicate his success Parts exploited a

program running on the PS3 called other

OS it allowed the system to run Linux

the preferred operating system of

homebrewers and compute the Nerds

everywhere when hot successfully hacked

the hardware he turned it from a single

purpose video game console into a

desktop computer allowing others like

him to write their own programs but

unlike Apple Sony didn't stay silent

they didn't praise him they would not

let some kid from New Jersey get the

better of them they issued a corrective

patch to stop other Hackers from

exploiting the system's weakness people

were used to playing Sony games but now

Sony had created a new game a game of

cat and mouse

The Homebrew Community responded and

they were not happy this patch ended

their free Reign Over the PS3 a move

that they called absolute Madness

in geohot at the center of it all became

a divisive figure this was a world he'd

helped create and so some held in him as

the Messiah of that world others went

the opposite route and wanted him

stopped at all costs this resulted in

his personal information being posted

online known otherwise as docsync phone

number real name address he was now a

much more public figure whether he liked

it or not

regardless one thing was for sure Sony's

patch wouldn't stop him from getting

back into the system after all in his

words his whole life is a hack but how

would he do it this time

hot's always thought of hacking as a

tool of persuasion if he could find a

way to manipulate the system he could

convince it to do whatever he wanted

last time he used that logic to create

code that forced his way in now he had a

different tactic why Force control when

he could convince the PS3 to give him

control instead in January 2011 Hartz

used his decryption program on a

different part of the console to reveal

the access key to override the patch it

took him weeks to jailbreak the PS3 on

the first try the second time around the

PS3 submitted to his will in under 10

minutes

but this time he posed for consideration

he knew the moment his patch released

Sony would again fix the vulnerability

something needed to change and so before

he gave the code away again he placed a

special feature to stop the console from

playing pirated games

well they can't use my stuff with

pirated video games I made a I made a

special effort when I released my stuff

to not support pirated video games but

more pressing than that is just the

immensity of the press and you know

attention Sony has brought to this issue

that has never affected more than a very

small segment of their customers this he

thought probably correctly was Sony's

biggest issue of course others could

have deactivated his future if they knew

how but after Sony's wrath came down

last time he wanted to show a little

good faith to the conglomerate he then

released his version of the hack to the

world again and it was very popular now

of course While others claimed to

jailbreak the PS3 before hotz he was

undoubtedly the one to brag most brazily

as he did the others were ghosts he

Hearts had a Blog he reveled in the

attention despite his Goodwill song you

were done now they knew they could patch

again and he would continue to break it

the cat mouth game was over instead they

set their legal team to follow the

breadcrumb trail of cheese leading them

directly to Hots and his loyal

supporters this of course wasn't hard

Potts was loud and on January 11 2011

Sony sued Hots and some of these cohorts

for violating the Computer Fraud and

Abuse Act and of course facilitating

copyright infringement

now the battle lines were being drawn

George hotz might have been listed as a

defendant but the message was very clear

it was bigger than him Sony were now

saying in no uncertain terms if you buy

a PS3 you buy it and use it as is or we

will come for you

activists call this a violation of First

Amendment rights after all who's to say

how you use anything after you buy it

Del Monte doesn't bust down your door

after you slice up one of their

pineapples and put it on a pizza so why

was so many different what gave them the

right to say how you can use a product

that you purchased but they claimed of

course it was a copyright issue potts's

attempt to stop pirated games from

playing on the system did not impress or

stop them Sony claimed that as long as

the system could be hacked it opened the

door to piracy and that was enough they

stated that ripped games cost the

industry around 8 billion dollars

annually and the legal team argued that

they weren't just protecting their

intellectual property but also

protecting consumers as well pots did

not see it this way he made his case

publicly appearing on G4 which if you're

too young to remember was like CNN for

gaming so then what what do you think

the issue is what exactly are you being

sued for here

making Sony math ah

that'll do it he joked around with the

hosts about the situation even put out a

one minute diss track on his YouTube

channel

yo it's Geo High

for those that don't know

I'm getting sued by Sony he made fun of

Sony and called himself the

personification of freedom for all

challenging them to use this video as

evidence of the trial geohar of course

wasn't taking the situation seriously

yet it was clear now that neither side

was going to back down but somebody was

publicly mostly quiet they weren't

looking to win the Memoirs despite what

the internet thinks the court of public

opinion is irrelevant when the law is

involved their plan was of course to

dominate the courts

and they were they started with a

successful restraining order placed on

Hots he could no longer by law hack the

PS3 and publish his exploits and

findings online but Sony smelled blood

in the water so why stop there they

subpoenaed Twitter Google YouTube and

hox's internet provider as well as the

IP addresses of anyone who downloaded

the hack instructions they were even

granted access to hotz's PayPal records

finding anyone who donated money to him

essentially anyone who gave hot money

attention likes views or downloaded his

products were just as guilty as him in

Sony's eyes

this overreach stunned the world it was

undoubtedly going to set a terrifying

president but according to the courts it

was valid each decision was upheld

legally there was one group on the

internet however who said enough is

enough they saw these actions for what

they were acts of War

Otts was no longer alone in this fight

now a new Challenger entered the arena

the mysterious group Anonymous has

struck again with a warning this is just

the beginning Anonymous is one of the

biggest online vigilante groups members

hack into companies and governments

reading citizens of the world

this is a message from anonymous

anonymous the most notorious and

secretive hacker Collective on Earth and

in their words they are legion

angered by Sony's actions against their

consumers and the abuse of power the

group issued an ominous and disturbing

threat

congratulations Sony you've now received

the undivided attention of anonymous you

saw a hole in its nest and you stuck

your penises in it you must face the

consequences of your actions Anonymous

style as cringe as that statement comes

off Anonymous started to follow through

on April 4th the hacker Collective took

down sony.com and playstation.com just

hours after their bizarre press release

the group took responsibility in a

subsequent YouTube video and issued

their demands Anonymous is currently

targeting Sony's website we are doing

this because Sony is currently suing

people for making features the

PlayStation originally had available to

the public leave geohot and the other

hackers alone let them continue to hack

the PS3 freely or there would be more to

come at this point despite the Swagger

geohot displayed a few months prior this

wasn't the kind of help he wanted

he feared that Anonymous and their army

could anger Sony even more maybe even

implicating him in their attacks and he

was of course right to be afraid while

you could argue about how he made a

living everything cots did was in the

light of day his method to an open book

for anyone to see online but Anonymous

is literally called Anonymous their

secretive militant and decentralized

without a clear leader or structure they

were free to attack Sony at will using

whatever tools they had available

literally anybody could claim to be

anonymous and do anything co-opting the

messaging and the group to essentially

do whatever they wanted

some of course would go further than

others without consideration of the

repercussions on anyone else Associated

one such faction of the shadowy group

doxed Sony Executives posting the

addresses and names of their family

members some of anonymous even wanted to

take the fight to the judge in the case

where of course most of them just wanted

to do something juvenile like in a

bag and leave it at the CEO of Sony's

doorstep it was of course chaos without

any clear Direction

pots at this stage rushed to avoid

stepping in more reaching a

settlement agreement with Sony on April

11th the jungko agreed never to Homebrew

another PS3 or any of their other

products ever again

even though Hots agreed to this

injunction bowing out of the situation

his supporters did not back down it

might have began with Hots but it was

now going to end with Anonymous and they

were ready to go even further on April

13th Anonymous released another video

calling for a day of Sony protest this

is an update on the current operation

Operation Sony jiahot has taken a

settlement with Sony the case has been

dropped in the eyes of the law the case

is closed for anonymous it is just

beginning it is April 16th grab your

mask a few friends and get to a local

Sony store by you use the IRC and the

official Facebook page to organize a

protest in your area that weekend many

Sony stores in the United Kingdom decide

to close to play it safe

the Manchester location even had police

waiting out front just in case things

get out of hand

in California one protester plastered

Flyers until they were asked to leave by

mall security but that's kind of it as

with most consumer-based protests it

came and went without much force

clearly if Anonymous wanted to hurt Sony

it couldn't be in the real world that is

not where Anonymous conducted their best

work

so instead they return to the shadows

and on April 17th employees that

suddenly noticed something abnormal

about their servers the machines kept

rebooting without authorization this

activity continued for the next two days

and while teams within the company

worked frantically to investigate the

root cause of the problems they had no

clue what was going on it wasn't until

April 19th that Sony realized somebody

was hacking their servers the problem

here went beyond gaming it wasn't just

that the service was down for paying

customers this was an unfathomable

escalation whoever was inside their

system now had access to 77 million PSN

subscriber accounts

their passwords personal information and

potentially even their credit card data

with a breach like this in full effect

for almost three days Sony had to take

drastic action to prevent further damage

on April 20th Sony took down the

PlayStation Network leaving Millions

without paid service they didn't tell

the public what was happening instead

leaving a brief message on their blog

quote we are aware certain functions of

PlayStation Network are down we will

report back here as soon as we can with

more information thank you for your

patience as you can imagine this didn't

help anybody rumors were swirling online

immediately was Anonymous really making

good on their threats

the next day the servers were still down

and once again Sony begged for patients

from their customers saying it could be

around 48 hours to fix the mess on April

22nd Sony finally admitted to quote an

external intrusion but they failed to

mention the possibility of the data

breach I'm sure of course it just

skipped their mind

while the internet buzzed and game is

fumed so many employees worked long

hours to rebuild their Network

infrastructure they even hired two

outside cyber security firms to analyze

and assist with the situation

surprisingly despite all their Rants and

threats Anonymous denied hacking the PSN

they said a few Rogue members could have

caused it but suggested the problem

ultimately was likely the servers

themselves this of course is why

Anonymous as a concept is so dangerous

there was no structure it was not a body

operating as one the left hand didn't

know what the right was doing or more

accurately it didn't even know the right

hand even existed

Sony eventually found a file on one of

their servers with the name Anonymous it

contained the signature catchphrase We

Are Legion a calling card confirming

what everyone originally assumed

Anonymous whether they knew it or not

was behind the attack this was The

Perfect Storm of incompetence

irresponsibility and lies four days

later somebody finally advised their

customers that their credit card data

could be at risk although there was no

evidence of theft

but no matter how they tried to play

Down the news had a devastating effect

Sony shares dropped in value day after

day investors were losing confidence in

the Tech Giant and then came the irony

where Sony had previously brought legal

action against the young man for his

actions the shoe was now on the other

fault the class action lawsuit had been

filed against Sony seeking compensation

and free credit card monitoring Services

due to Sony's failure to act and protect

their customers data at this stage Hots

of course made sure to cover his bases

uploading a video calling the hack

uncalled for even if it's aimed at the

bad guys he wasn't taking any chances

with being implicated this time cut to

May 2nd the network still remained

closed according to a Sony press release

thousands of credit card numbers could

have been accessed no matter how hard

they tried no mountain spin could stop

the company from spiraling

it wasn't until May 14th that the

service finally came back online at

least for some people as it took them

nearly two days for engineers to restore

the PSN country by country after 23 days

the nightmare finally came to an end

well for the customers anyway for Sony

they were about to meet the final boss

in this fight worse than any Shadow a

hacker group or angry home Brewer worse

even than the angry investors and

consumers now Sony faced the Wrath of

the United States Congress a

subcommittee of the U.S House launched

an investigation into the Cyber crimes

occurring at Sony concerned mainly with

their lack of action leading up to the

attacks after all they'd literally been

threatened they knew this could have

happened why were they not prepared for

when it did after verifying what

information was at risk Sony claimed

they acted when they could and notified

customers once they had all the facts

when asked about the credit card data

they claimed those numbers remain

encrypted but that wasn't the case for

literally everything else and that

included passwords so while credit card

data was safe according to Sony hackers

now had access to details that could see

hundreds of thousands potentially

millions of accounts hacked as a result

putting even more data at risk if people

were to have used those passwords across

multiple Services across the pond the

British information commissioner office

also had a formal investigation into

Sony they found that the company

breached the UK's data protection act of

1998 saying that technology was their

stock and trade and as such the fact

they didn't see it coming or stop it

from happening was inexcusable the UK

find them a measly 395 thousand dollars

Sony of course had a long way to make it

up to their customers whose Goodwill had

all been burned they pledged to provide

Insurance up to one million dollars for

anyone who was the victim of credit card

fraud or identity theft

since customers lost about one month of

service they gave out 30 days free for

PSN plus subscribers they even let

Gamers choose two free games to download

from a very limited selection

but forget Sony for a moment because no

amount of gifts could undo the damage

they'd done to an entire industry

it was the most significant data breach

of its time and undermine confidence in

online security more revealing the

events leading up to the hack showed

Sony's priorities were games and

proprietary rights and not consumers the

breach showed the weakness of a mega

Corporation servers their hubris

regarding the powers of a small but

determined group of hackers and of

course consumer rights but at the end of

it all did Sony learn their lesson from

any of this

realistically if there was Justice in

the world Sony would have suffered much

harsher consequences for what they tried

to do with the overreaching legal war

and of course for their flagrant

disregard of customer data but months

later they gained over 3 million new PSN

subscribers and went on to grow larger

year on year even after being found

objectively wronged by multiple

government bodies across the globe it's

doubtful to say something ever learned

any meaningful lesson from their

situation the hackers were the ones who

eventually learned their lesson though

that wouldn't happen for some months and

is a story for an entirely different

video altogether