Should Sony Be Taken To Task For Their Repeated Security Issues

The last few weeks have seen the news filled with stories about computer hacks and information leaks. The notorious attack on Sony regarding “The Interview” and the loads of sensitive data stolen and released have shown a serious lack of security in online networks.

I understand that there are different forms of cyber attacks and that hacking and other directed attacks due differ. A hack is a subversive attack used to obtain or view data and that ddos and such are directed attacks for the sake of disrupting systems but for the sake of clarity, we will refer to this as an electronic attack in this article.

While I understand that no system on the planet is beyond being hacked by determined individuals with skill and resources, I do have to ask why Sony keeps being targeted.

Before I get lambasted for this article, I do want to point out that we are owners of the Sony consoles, the last two at launch and have been called Sony Fanboys from Xbox and Nintendo fans for our stated preference for their systems.
It would be easy to say it was in response to “The Interview”, but Sony has had a history of being the victim of cyber attacks, notably the one that compromised their Playstation accounts and released the sensitive data of millions of customers online.
In light of recent attacks, it seems deeply concerning that the Playstation and Xbox networks were attacked over Christmas and as of this writing, the Playstation network is still not operating properly.
Knowing that they are a target makes me wonder if Sony is doing enough to protect the privacy of their data and customers. They know they are a target and have been repeatedly targeted, but yet this happens to them again and again.
Look at it this way, the motives of the attackers involved are various but time and again they go after Sony. If a person has the skill to do an attack on the level of the Sony attacks, are there not other targets that would be as tempting?
Take Disney for example. With scripts and plans for the new “Star Wars” and Marvel films as well as countless other projects available, that information would be a highly tempting target, as would information from Paramount, FOX, and other studios.
So I have to ask why have these companies been able to keep their information while Sony is compromised time and again.
Either the attackers do not consider the other companies information worth the effort or they have security that makes them to difficult to attack.
I would find it hard to believe that Sony does not take security seriously in the wake of such attacks, and this makes me wonder if this could be the work of disgruntled insiders at Sony as some believe that it would take a deep knowledge of the systems and security in order to target such a deep and crippling attack.
Regardless of the who, what, where, when, and why of the attack, it is clear that Sony has and continues to be a major target and as such needs to do a better job with security as the attacks are happening far too often and consumers can only be expected to be so patient and understanding especially when the nature of their personal information is at hand.
I was very understanding when the first attack happened as my thoughts were that no company should be held to task for the work of some individuals with malicious intent. That being said, it is clear that Sony will continue to be a target and one has to wonder if they have done, and are doing enough to maintain the security of their systems.

I believe they are as there is nothing that companies can do in an age where electronic attacks are commonplace. If a person or group wants to get at information and they have the time, skill, and resources to do so, then this sort of thing will continue to happen. Hence why I will continue to happily be a Playstation + subscriber.

26 Comments

  1. Asadachi said:

    DDOS attacks have nothing to do with security. Your article is bad and you should feel bad. All you are doing is perpetuating more ignorance and stupidity.

    December 30, 2014
    • gareth said:

      You should try reading it. This was a DDOS attack but they have been attacked in the past, hence why all the user info such as credit cards was taken. Just because the most recent was not a hack, Sony has been hacked and as the title says, repeated issues. Sony has been hacked and attacked over the past two years, hence repeated attacks.

      December 30, 2014
      • Deadpoolio said:

        ONCE in 2011 and ZERO people actually lost any money over it..Users were also given hundreds of dollars worth of free stuff AND 2 years worth of identity theft protection…..And it has happened ZERO times since 2011, some cute people might try and bring up Sony PICTURES getting hacked which is NOT PSN…..

        Yet I didn’t see ANYONE lambasting Microsoft when for an entire calendar year users accounts were getting hacked and actually losing hundreds of dollars and access to their accounts for MONTHS…All while refusing to take down XBL to investigate the problem. Hell they even flat out blamed the users for having weak passwords, when FACT in the end it was because they ingeniously allowed unlimited password attempts on the website so that any mental midget with a brute force program could easily breach any account with even the strongest password……

        Consistently in people’s complaining would be fantastic since again, Sony made ONE mistake in 2011 and it hasn’t happened since, on top of again ZERO people having lost any actual money

        December 30, 2014
        • gareth said:

          They fact that they are targeted again and again will erode consumer confidence that they can keep data secure.

          December 30, 2014
  2. Enrico said:

    Sony should be sued into oblivion for their lack of security, but it won’t take long before they reach bankruptcy anyway, so it might be futile. Truly a dying company led by incompetent morons.

    December 30, 2014
    • gareth said:

      16 million consoles sold, Microsoft had to slash theirs to the bone cost wise and lose millions to keep up. They must be doing something right.

      December 30, 2014
  3. Jester said:

    Where are these commenters getting their “facts” from these days? Do some research before you make yourself look stupid

    December 30, 2014
  4. Some0ne said:

    This article is exactly what the website is called: skewed. DDoS attack isn’t a security flaw nor does it put anyone at risk. Sony’s gaming and pictures/movies are two completely different divisions, you have no argument. It’s like you think the two are under the same roof. Delusional. And then you compare gaming with movie watchers? Disney with PlayStation? I’msomewhat flabbergasted.

    December 30, 2014
  5. Ruder said:

    I find it very disturbing that blogs, websites, press etc etc only help against Sony with such negative articles over situations of, what is essentially, cyber bullying. The first hack of 2011, Sony entertainment of this year, the two instances of ddos attacks have all been proven that it is someone/thing only wanting to tarnish Sony. So why are people with said voices not bringing up the real questions? Why is Sony getting bullied, who has to benefit from it and, why is nothing being done?(at least here in the states) The press is only advertising the negativity that it is causing and basically helping the bullies out with kicking the victim while they are down. None of this has been for profit, nor has any instance of theft been reported unlike a lot of other services and or os systems out there but yet, sonys issues get advertised while other companies security issues get brushed under the carpet?
    The people responsible for the last ddos attack even acknowledged how simple Microsofts security is and why it is so easy to get back up was because there are less holes to jump through but yet the tougher system of Sony was harder to get through and being a more intricate system makes it tougher to get back up? What about all the theft issues with Microsoft that only get described as “consumer error”? Are say that a huge majority of Microsoft consumers are idiots and it’s ok? I think not.
    Which brings me back to the point, it really seems as if all of this is trying to be controlled by a large amount of money and it is really sad.
    I am glad people are waking up. Their intelligence is outpacing the press and the marketed voices that try to control what people read and or buy.
    If you are not a part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
    Ask the real questions and do so intelligently.

    December 30, 2014
    • gareth said:

      Regardless of what it is, they have been compromised repeatedly. We have PS + accounts and will continue to do so, but they have been targeted often.

      December 30, 2014
  6. John Nemesh said:

    Actually, YOU, Gareth, should be taken to task for shoddy and sensational journalism! A DDoS attack is not a “hack”, and there is NO network that is immune from them. Go read up on the subject….and next time, do your research BEFORE writing a garbage article that is factually incorrect!

    December 30, 2014
    • gareth said:

      I did. Sony was the victim of a hack, and electronic attacks. They have a perception from many that they cannot keep their systems and their customer data safe. Note, we do have PS + accounts so we do support them, but amongst most people there is a belief that they have security issues.

      December 30, 2014
  7. dnaustremse7e11 said:

    I am a big fan of Sony and their Playstation brand. They are clearly a company that cares about games, gaming and the future of entertainment.

    Now, in the past they could almost be forgiven for their lesser security measures considering they didn’t charge for online services like Microsoft have always done. However, with the new generation they are charging for online services and don’t get me wrong you definitely get your money back with PS+ but their security seems to be just as weak as it always has been.

    On top of this they have had a VERY good year, outselling Microsoft and practically dominating the console market for the last 10 months yet all that new money seems to have been spent on marketing rather than fix issues with the console and most importantly tightening security to protect it’s consumers sensitive data.

    If hackers want to find a way onto your computer they always will. There’s no security tough enough to stop a dedicated hacker or hacker network however this does not mean you shouldn’t do everything in your power to try and avoid this happening, especially when you’er tasked with protecting other people’s data.

    Long answer short; Yes, Sony definitely need to be held accountable and ordered by a court to spend more money on updating their security protocols to at least match the competition or be more forthcoming with its security breaches to the consumers.

    December 30, 2014
    • gareth said:

      I think the biggest damage will be the perception that their networks and consumer data is not safe.

      December 30, 2014
      • Some0ne said:

        The perception which you’re willingly flaunting and exacerbating. I think that’s known as hypocrisy in the industry, not sure though.

        January 3, 2015
        • gareth said:

          Sony called it a Attack and a hack themselves at CES so they should know.

          January 8, 2015
          • Some0ne said:

            Well… No… They didn’t. You’re confusing the Sony Pictures segment and this had nothing to do with my comment. You claimed the biggest damage is data not being safe, yet with this article alone, you’re simply advertising this apparent perception – blatant hypocrisy.

            This article goes to show the integrity of not only your ‘journalism’ but also the website’s.

            January 10, 2015
          • gareth said:

            news flash We cover films as well as games and nowhere did I say that the story was about the games division only. You have tons of negativity over something as trivial as an Opinion Piece.

            January 10, 2015
  8. steeeevo said:

    where are the Ads on this site, so i can click on some, to give this site a few cts, so they can buy a pen and return to school ?

    FYI, every company in the world, since the moment they’re connected to internet, or via an email server, intranet, vpn, etc, every hour, every minute, every second, there is someone, some botnets, some networks, some countries performing all kind of tests, pings, trying to find the smallest security hole.

    with a few dozens thousands computers with viruses, any hacker can simply ping an hostname, ex, sony.com, get the ip x.x.x.x
    and then, redirect all the infected computers to that ip, to generate tons of traffic, or any other action.
    all sites. not only sony. ALL.
    if you guys check your router logs, you will see tons of activity, from bots, etc, trying to connect to the network.

    and for the desperate comment from the desperate boy, begging and praying for sony to go bankrupt,
    sorry, kid, bad news for you. sony is doing better and better each year, despite tsunamis, nuclear problems, and other disasters.2013-14, they were almost Ok with the cash, and in 2015, they should start making huge profits, thanks to the ps4 and other good sectors.

    so yeah, bad news, kid. you’re going to keep on playing your 720p games on your xbox one, while watching the whole sony community-gamers getting tons of love, free stuff, and fantastic games, month upon month upon month.

    the only luck microsoft has, is the fact of having 99% of the US gamin press permanently praising the brand, giving fantastic scores to the x1 games, and bashing and downgrading the ps4, and sony in general. only this saves the brand.

    believe me, if microsoft and xbox brand was getting the same level of hate as sony, tons of doom and gloom articles, 5-6/10 scores to all exclusive games, etc etc, from that same gamin press, oh boy, nobody would care about kinekts or snaps or esrams and fantastic magical sdk’s. no, nobody would give a fck about it.

    it’s almost a miracle that sony manages to do that well, despite all the hate and negative shiit from that press, and all the hate from the nazi hating community, on forums, etc.

    but despite all the articles in 2014, where the US press declared the xbox one the best console to buy, bla bla bla, kinekt, experience, bla bla, best fantastic exclusive games, bla bla, despite all that, looks like people suddenly woke up, and left the ms matrix.
    looks like people stopped listening to all the craap from the PR, all the fantastic annoucments about the incredible power of the cloud (1 year later, please, microsoft, show us one single game, already released or to be released, where the game looks and plays much much better, thanks to the magic cloud)…, the great magical sdks, the light-speed esram and its infinite power, the fabulous directx12, that will multiply the x1 power by 2x, etc etc.
    looks like people didn’t believe a single word, and simply bought the best console for the players, instead of following all those fantastic US articles praising the xbox one, and begging people to go and buy one.

    December 30, 2014
    • gareth said:

      Regardless, the attacks keep happening to Sony and this gives them a black eye to some consumers. You may want to note that we have advocated the PlayStation over any other system and at no point did we ever tell people to buy the Xbox One. In fact if you will note, we have an article stating why I have yet to get one even though most of the staff has one. We have a great reputation with Sony and will be guests at their conference Monday in Vegas for the 2014 C.E.S. where we expect this will be addressed.

      December 30, 2014
  9. Zebo said:

    ddos attacks can grow exponentially ,therefore even 10 or 100x more servers than necessary couldn”t cope with such an attack if it is big enough.
    Considering that a country was accused of hacking Sony,someones IQ must be pretty low to think that a corporation can avoid governmental attacks,
    considering the new rumours that a former Sony employee has been part of the “attackers” the article makes is pretty irrellevant as treason from within is impossible to prevent(as the USA with Edward Snowden,though imo this was no treason at all.
    (BTW-funny that the only non-US company with huge stakes in US Media business is prepetually victim of attacks while the others aren”t.

    December 31, 2014
    • gareth said:

      I did not say they could be avoided, what I said was considering they have been targeted often, have they done enough to have consumers confident that their data is safe. You will note that we still have our PS+ accounts so I am satisfied. We meet with them on Monday at C.E.S. so this may be addressed then.

      December 31, 2014
  10. AmUnRa said:

    Garth you are wrong in what you are saying, en the worst part is that you believe what you are writing. O, and try to convince people on the commentsection on websites like N4G is so WRONG….

    December 31, 2014
    • gareth said:

      It is Gareth, not Garth. Also, they were hacked that is a fact. They were also hit by a DDOS attack. Sony has been targeted often the past few years. So what part of any of this is not factual? Read the news, they arrested a person in the U.K. today, connected to the SONY Hack. (unless CNN Is wrong as well).

      December 31, 2014
  11. YOUDIEMOFO said:

    Soooooo all of the other big companies like Walmart……, Home Depot……, target….., and many others do not have to fess up or own up to their security issues…..?! Just Sony….? These were companies that data breaches just this year alone, but again this is locally Sonys fault.

    All companies pretty much regardless of their security is vulnerable to an extent. Sony has more departments and teams than most other companies out there, so I would imagine the larger you are the bigger bullseye you have on your back. Dude get the click bait off of your site before you truly throw out a finger or a wrist typing this garbage up

    December 31, 2014
    • gareth said:

      They should as well. Any company that does not keep consumer data safe is liable. As I mentioned though, we still support them and maintain our accounts.

      December 31, 2014

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