Amazon EC2 kicked PSN Down?

Another Bloomberg report. This time, I think it is more accurate compared to previous report that they have made. However, I think when Bloomberg reported that the PSN will be back on by the end of this month is slowly becoming more realistic.

Apparently Bloomberg is saying that the FBI is slowly making a trace back to the perpetrators of the PSN hacking scheme. The hackers used Amazon's EC2 servers to help them enter PSN and bring it down. EC2 is a cloud computing service helping developers to compute much easier. It is a pay-as-you-go type of service. So anyone can sign-up, pay, and the service is yours. The hackers used false information to sign up for the site. However, it will be another road block for the authorities if they find out that the hackers used a stolen credit card or even a pre-paid credit card.

At least the FBI is making progress tracking down the guys behind this. I am pretty sure that the hacker has already thrown off his hard drive and computer into the river by this time :)

Sony : Just a little bit more...

Argh! Now I am really frustrated. I can tell you guys are too (so many searches in regards to PSN updates). Today, Mr. Seybold has just announced (re-stating the announcement of the announcement that was announced more than a week ago) "Few more days". No I am serious. This is a new announcement. Sony got us excited on that blog post in regards to final stages. What did we just get after that post? Another blog that says it will take another couple of days for the PSN to get back up on its feet - step by step.

Patrick Seybold : *shrugs* 

Please Patrick, just include something that will really give hope instead of saying just those words like "can't" ,"I know", and etc. At least say - "Oh one of the three security companies that we brought in has finished their testing...on to the next one." All we got was "Hang in there!" Some people can't hold on any more. They are getting tired waiting and listening to the same thing over and over again to "next few days" "A little more time". Better yet, just don't post at all and surprise us.

To be honest, I can't really wait any more. I thought Move and other games that I just have purchased are going to entertain me until the return of the PSN. I guess I am wrong. I finished Portal 2 and SOCOM 4 at the same day I got them. Those were some of the big titles that has came out recently.

The PSN is also necessary to post on message boards which enables the community to voice out their concern directly or discuss other things with each other. Funny thing is that some of the developers  can't even post on their official forums because they cannot log-in since it requires PSN.

Another day, another blog post with no definite date when the PSN will be coming back online.

Here is that short and bitter post. I wish it had a different title. Not really a "Timeline Update" so beware of the misleading title of this official blog post.

Here ya go:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/10/psn-restoration-timeline-update/

Do you want free money?

Sony is considering offering a reward for any information in regards to the hackers who stole millions of customer personal data according  to CNET. Pretty interesting read. Oh yea, nothing is free. You need to provide information in exchange for money...or whatever that is.

There are reports that some members that were kicked out of their gang was apparently providing information to law enforcement. Hmmm... that is what happens when people are butthurt. If you kick someone in the ass, they will kick yours back.

I think Sony will use this tactic as the last resort if they could not trace the path back to the hacker's laptop/computer/or even a modified PS3. Yes, there is a possibility that they have used a modded PS3 to enter Sonyland. That would be the easiest way to get into the system servers. Hitching a ride in their own system making it harder for the servers to detect. I don't know. It is just something that came into my mind but it is still possible.

If they do end up using this reward tactic, I think many from their own group would turn over against each other. Well, primarily because none or ...maybe a few of them knew each other "personally" and a free money is up for grabs. Their handle/username/Alias is a start. Of course, the FBI will be there and other law enforcement if this happens. It wouldn't be like a dark alley exchange scene from movies (but that would be cool).

If you are one of those people that knows or "knows" the hacker's alias or identity, would you turn that person in for a bag of money?

I would love how this goes...this is getting interesting everyday!

Oh yea here's the link for that CNET article :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20060661-83.html

Light at the end of the tunnel

Sony announced again today that they are in their final phase of internal testing. What does this mean? PSN is coming back...soon. Maybe a few days or even tomorrow. Well what the heck. Anyways, it sounds very promising how this new system will be much more secure. However, what is there to secure when everyone knows that someone has your information already. Future customers definitely.

Glad that we hear something that they are almost done testing the new and improved PSN network. The problem is not finished yet with Sony due to several class action lawsuits and governments bugging the company. When these things are all resolved and back to normal. Everyone will be back and happy again at the end.

Subpoena

Remember this word from Hotz case that haunted many users for sometime due to Sony scouring through information from Youtube and other sites? Well, it is making its way back to the Sony scene. This time it is against Sony.

The New York state issued a subpoena for Sony reported by Bloomberg today. Mr. Kaz's response was beyond the due date that was put down by the House of Representatives. So, I guess the reason why the court issued a subpoena is because they want more answers from the hacking.

What does this mean to Sony? Sony will be sending a representative to explain the whole situation. It was revealed that Sony's servers were running an outdated software with known holes and outdated firewalls . That was a bad part from Sony. Like they said, they were clueless themselves about the incident because they do not know what was going on in their system. The reason? not enough firewall and sub-par defences and operating systems for the servers.

People put their trust so much to these successful companies such as Apple (which was collecting your information in secret). That trust makes us consumers blind. Be aware that there is no perfect system out there for consumer grade level. Take pre-caution when entering your information out there.
Payback is best served cold.

Sony had outdated defences says Hackers

So I just finished reading the reported conversation between hackers. The chat-log in other word. I must say, these guys are pretty smart and knows what they do. I could barely understand what they are talking about since they are using technical terms most of the time. From what I understand was Sony did not have an up-to-date defences against hackers. I mean why would they? They got millions of people connected to it (even hackers) at the same time? Why would the hackers will try to bring it down or even think about it.

I am not sure whether what they are talking about is legit or not but there are people out there that are very committed to cracking stuff up and figuring out things in a digital way. I mean talking about passion to what they do even though they know the consequences will be bad. I think some of them hang out in that channel all day long working together.

 The sad truth about the PS3 is that is collects many information about the user as stated by one of the users. More than anything you have signed up for. For one, maybe it is to make sure you are abiding the rules and make a fair environment for one. What I am curious about when a user said that Sony is using an outdated server software and operating system. The software they are using to run their servers has known gaps. So it is true. In business, nothing is free. If it is free, expect a service that is a little lower than the norm. The funny thing is even if you are paying for Plus, you are under the same category as a free user. I am not sure how it is changed now after the hacking. I am pretty sure that Sony's investigation is still ongoing right now. Restoration might take a few more days and a few more reassurance from the community managers by posting blogs that it will return this week. They have said it a couple of times already and provided us a draft with no known exact date the service will be back.

I am lucky that I have not updated my information or attempted to put my CC information on the PSN right before this hacking occurred. Although, I feel a little scared knowing that my information is somewhere out there floating. However, at the same time why would I since we all have many digital personal information footprint lying around - facebook and other sites that we have registered to.

I just can't wait till the service comes back on. It seems to me, the online part of gaming has become a staple for this generation. I believe that many companies will learn their lessons and will provide a better and secure future for their users.

Update (1): PSN servers were running up to date software. They said anyone can check the software version by just google-ing the servers. Hmmm...are PSN servers open to public like that? I mean, it is easy to check a website server's software version by google cache but a game server? Hmm...

Sony : We know who did it or ... do we?

Another official blog was just posted few minutes ago by Mr. Seybold providing an answer to to the U.S house of Representatives' questions. Apparently, Sony and their digital forensic team has found a file in their server that says "Anonymous - We are Legion". Few days after the PSN went down, the anonymous said that they are not at fault for causing this situation.

This confirms that Anonymous is the one at fault:

"We discovered that the intruders had planted a file on one of our Sony Online Entertainment servers named “Anonymous” with the words “We are Legion.”

- Patrick Seybold, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media

The problem with this group of hackers is that they act without a leader. If they all agree on one idea, they will do it and nobody will point a finger(since each hacker does not know the other hacker)making it difficult for the authorities to catch its members. Also, one can become rouge and betray their operations because there is no one on top and on power to moderate the moderators.

The ones who disagree with the initial idea does their own thing carrying the same name - "Anonymous". It is probably those group who did this or someone pretending to be the "Anonymous". So, it is hard to tell who is lying or who is telling the truth. The fact is, they are all Anonymous.

Let's see how things happened since the beginning:

• GeoHotz was brought to court
• Anonymous showed up and declared war to Sony for teh lulz - they also posted a video in youtube
• PSN was attacked for a short period of time as well as official Sony website
• Gamers were furious about messing up with their PSN
• Anonymous said that it will halt its action against PSN but will continue against other Sony websites
• It was rumoured that the group has broken into two groups - the ones that they think should not disrupt the PSN and the ones that should
• PSN was shutdown
• Anonymous denied that they are the cause of the hacking but states that they will continue to disrupt services as soon as the PSN goes back live again.
• Sony and their forensic team has found a file leading them back towards Anons and announces it to the public.

Sony is pointing its fingers to the anons. Soon the Playstation supporters will follow because they are butthurt. I hope this does not lead to hack wars.

Sony has no name or age or anything that identifies the hackers. It might take months or  years to find out the people behind the name anonymous. They have deleted logs in the server to cover their tracks. Digital forensics should be much more smarter than just looking at logs.

Update (1): Official response documents are now available in flicker.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/playstationblog/5686965323/in/set-72157626521862165/

In the official document it states :

"Detection was difficult because of sheer sophistication of the intrusion."

Indeed, hackers becomes much more smarter as years go by. They are more experienced and possibly with a higher education. What fascinates me the most is that Sony shut down only the server they suspect that was compromised hours later the hacking and while they were not aware about other servers being compromised as well. I have noticed significant on and offs from the network at that time because I was online. If they had a suspicion that someone is mingling around their system, they should have shut it down right away. Sony had enough warnings prior to getting hacked and they were very confident about their defences I guess.

The documents provided by Sony are very informative. Not only it provides information based on a timeline but it explains everything in Sony's perspective. To think that telling their consumers without a physical evidence that their information has been taken would be...stupid. Not only they will provide false information to the consumers that could lead to fear. Either way, it was a dilemma for Sony.

Sony : Hired three security firms

As we continue to waiting for the PSN to go back online. It is revealed by The Wall Street Journal that Sony is working with three security firms to investigate how the hackers entered through Sony's defences. Those three companies are Proviti inc., Guidance Software Inc.,and Data Forte Corp. Also, I have seen a diagaram somewhere how the hackers has entered through Sony's defences. As of now the PSN is still down and users were promised within a week (from last tuesday) that the PSN is going back up. If they can get back the online part for multiplayer, some people might be happy and will not be thinking about issuing a class action lawsuit.

Speaking of lawsuit. Today, a Canadian 21 year old female from Ontario, Canada filed a lawsuit against all branches of Sony corporation. The first one from Canada. Sony did not announce anything about their Canadian customers affected by the hacking.

Also, there is a rumour going around that the PSN service in Japan is back up. I doubt it. If you do not hear it from an official source like the official blog, do not believe it even if it from a customer service from Sony. Many are writing about and then apologizing after.

For the news article regarding the three firm visit : http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110503-714462.html