SOE Currently Has 'No ETA' on Game Services

SOE downtime continues as they work to secure information.

UPDATE, May 4: SOE has answered some common questions about the attack.

As we previously reported, all Sony Online Entertainment services, games, forums and web sites went offline this morning as a result of the recent Playstation Network intrusion. SOE issued an announcement which revealed that personal information had been compromised.  Players were, for the most part, relieved that credit card information was safe, but wanted to know when they could play their games.  The press release only said, "Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible."

We shot off a quick e-mail to John "Smed" Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment, asking if the servers would be back up tonight, May 2.  He quickly replied with, "They won't be up tonight unfortunately." 

SOE is granting customers 30 days of additional time on their subscriptions, in addition to compensating them one day for each day the system is down.

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whoa!
# May 03 2011 at 9:49 AM Rating: Decent
whats with charging me my sub. fee 25 days early sony?
my bills are tight as they can be. i dont got money to throw around.
i chose CHOSE to get billed at the end of the month for a reason!
this messes up my month. i expect atleast triples xp and something cool in game for this unheard of nonsense. like a special merc or redeemable item idontcare sony just make up for it.
i can pay for my own subcribtion if you would just bill me on time.
I'm Not Mad
# May 03 2011 at 9:35 AM Rating: Decent
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73 posts
I'm not mad that servers are down, not mad that I can't play. I'm not mad that I was on a 5 1/2 day camp in a 6 day spawn and got axed just before pop time. I am mad that there has been hardly any real information coming from Sony other than a website which never updates, and the only information we receive is dribbles and drabbles from other sources. I understand they are working to get things going again. I understand probably every employee at Sony is under fire to get things going again. But they do have designated spokespeople, who barring anything else could take 2 minutes to update either here, or Facebook, or SOMETHING, to keep everyone at best even partially informed. Anything at all, even a stardard _ We have nothing new to say at this time_, every couple of hours would at least let people know that SOMEONE cares enough to update something. But not knowing anything, is really beginning to grate. The master deigning to throw scraps from the tables to the worthless peons routine is getting old, fast,,,
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I'm Not Mad
# May 03 2011 at 9:40 AM Rating: Decent
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Well, hopefully the wait will be over when the servers come up and your mob will be there waiting for you.
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newest security update by sony
# May 03 2011 at 9:32 AM Rating: Decent
20 posts
SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES THEFT OF DATA FROM ITS SYSTEMS
Breach Believed to Stem From Initial Criminal Hack of SOE

Tokyo, May 3, 2011 - Sony Corporation and Sony Computer Entertainment announced today that their ongoing investigation of illegal intrusions into Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE, the company) systems revealed yesterday morning (May 2, Tokyo time) that hackers may have stolen SOE customer information on April 16th and 17th, 2011 (PDT). SOE is based in San Diego, California, U.S.A.

This information, which was discovered by engineers and security consultants reviewing SOE systems, showed that personal information from approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts may have been stolen, as well as certain information from an outdated database from 2007. The information from the outdated database that may have been stolen includes approximately 12,700 non-U.S. credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates (but not credit card security codes), and about 10,700 direct debit records of certain customers in Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Spain.

With the current outage of the PlayStation® Network and Qriocity™ services and the ongoing investigation into the recent attacks, SOE had also undertaken an intensive investigation into its system. Upon discovery of this additional information, the company promptly shut down all servers related to SOE services while continuing to review and upgrade all of its online security systems in the face of these unprecedented cyber-attacks.

On May 1, Sony apologized to its customers for the inconvenience caused by its network services outages. The company is working with the FBI and continuing its own full investigation while working to restore all services.

Sony is making this disclosure as quickly as possible after the discovery of the theft, and the company has posted information on its website and will send e-mails to all consumers whose data may have been stolen.

The personal information of the approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts that was illegally obtained, to the extent it had been provided to SOE, is as follows:

name
address
e-mail address
birthdate
gender
phone number
login name
hashed password.
In addition to the information above, the 10,700 direct debit records from accounts in Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Spain, include:

bank account number
customer name
account name
customer address.
SOE will grant customers 30 days of additional time on their subscriptions, in addition to compensating them one day for each day the system is down. It is also in the process of outlining a "make good" plan for its PlayStation®3 MMOs (DC Universe Online and Free Realms). More information will be released this week.

Additionally, the company is committed to helping its customers protect their personal data and will provide a complimentary offering to assist users in enrolling in identity theft protection services and/or similar programs. The implementation will be at a local level and further details will be made available shortly in each region.

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) has been a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games since 1999. Best known for its blockbuster hits and franchises, including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, PlanetSide®, Free Realms®, Clone Wars Adventures™, and DC Universe Online™, SOE creates, develops and provides compelling online entertainment for virtually all platforms, including the PlayStation®3 Computer Entertainment System, Personal Computer, mobile and social networks. SOE is building on its proven legacy and pioneering the future of the interactive entertainment space through creative development and inspired gameplay design for audiences of all ages. To learn more, visit www.soe.com.

For more information and update about the SOE services, please visit www.soe.com/securityupdate.

About Sony Corporation
Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and on-line businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading electronics and entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $78 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/

About Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Recognized as the global leader and company responsible for the progression of consumer-based computer entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) manufactures, distributes and markets the PlayStation® game console, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system and the PlayStation®3 (PS3®) system. PlayStation has revolutionized home entertainment by introducing advanced 3D graphic processing, and PlayStation 2 further enhances the PlayStation legacy as the core of home networked entertainment. PSP is a handheld entertainment system that allows users to enjoy 3D games, with high-quality full-motion video, and high-fidelity stereo audio. PS3 is an advanced computer system, incorporating the state-of-the-art Cell processor with super computer like power. SCEI, along with its subsidiary divisions Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd., and Sony Computer Entertainment Korea Inc. develops, publishes, markets and distributes software, and manages the third party licensing programs for these platforms in the respective markets worldwide. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, SCEI is an independent business unit of the Sony Group.


Edited, May 3rd 2011 11:33am by Kaifin
just to put everyones minds at ease
# May 03 2011 at 9:20 AM Rating: Decent
20 posts
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for Sony: Hours after shutting down access to its Sony Online Entertainment service, the company announced another security intrusion that exposed information on an additional 24.6 million accounts.

Sony says hackers infiltrated the Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) systems around the same time as the recent break-in to Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN). Data thieves made away with personal information from approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts, according to Sony.

An “outdated database from 2007″ was also copied which included 12,700 credit card and debit card numbers and expiration dates from customers in Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Spain. Sony noted that credit card security codes were not included in that database.

SOE systems power Sony’s multiplayer online games including EverQuest II, Free Realms and DC Universe Online. The service went down Monday morning in the United States with a maintenance message. Sony has since followed up with more details.

Over the weekend Sony executives held a press conference to discuss security problems with its PlayStation Network (PSN) and Qriocity media streaming service. Around April 18, data thieves broke into PSN and Qriocity’s databases and made away with personal information on 77 million account holders, including, possibly, credit card information on about 10 million subscribers.

The company failed to acknowledge the data breach until almost a week after it shut down access to the PSN and Qriocity services, raising sharp criticism from PSN users, security analysts and others.

A contrite Kazuo Hirai and other Sony executives took the dais at the Sunday press conference to apologize to Sony users affected by the initial security failure, promising to make amends by offering free access to PlayStation Plus content and other benefits.

Similarly, Sony is promising to overhaul SOE’s security procedures, and is offering some tepid enhancements to help encourage players to come back, once service has been restored.

This latest fiasco tips the total number of affected Sony user accounts to more than 100 million. While it looked like Sony had some hope of digging out from the initial PSN catastrophe intact, anyone who’s ever given Sony a credit card must be looking askew at the company now.

I found this on a news site- official statement from sony. So no ones credit card information is in fact confirmed as being compromised. That does not however mean that you shouldn't take any necessary precautions with your credit cards. It is still unclear when they will reactivate servers. I suppose I will just keep checking in occasionally.
All this whinning?
# May 03 2011 at 9:10 AM Rating: Decent
I seriously cannot believe all this whinning some of you are doing, get real....things like this happen everyday and do you all really think Sony was planning this? Give credit were credit is due.....It's not Sony but the person or persons who have taken the time to figure out a way to hack into their files.

Sony there are still some of us that while Yes this is an inconvience we are just glad you got it and are doing something about...I believe that you are releasing the information as you have it and I for one appreciate it Keep up the good work and I will be back in EQ when it is up and running again.
All this whinning?
# May 03 2011 at 10:45 AM Rating: Decent
Jezzy wrote:
I seriously cannot believe all this whinning some of you are doing, get real....things like this happen everyday and do you all really think Sony was planning this? Give credit were credit is due.....It's not Sony but the person or persons who have taken the time to figure out a way to hack into their files.

Sony there are still some of us that while Yes this is an inconvience we are just glad you got it and are doing something about...I believe that you are releasing the information as you have it and I for one appreciate it Keep up the good work and I will be back in EQ when it is up and running again.

Wow, we're really honoured, the original Sony fanboy arrived.

This is the hacker's fault? Boy are you misguided?

Who but Sony decided to use Apache without carrying out security patches on it?? Who but Sony decided to keep personal details from an old unprotected database where it could be externally accessed? Who but Sony care so little about their customer's personal details that it has taken them almost 3 weeks to even tell those customers they may have a problem.

The fact you see this as nothing more than an incovenience indicates you are either paying using your parents credit card or you simply don't understand the real impact of what has happened. For your parent's sake I really hope it is the latter.
All this whinning?
# May 03 2011 at 11:27 AM Rating: Default
HEHE....Using my parents credit card!

Might I ask why all you whinning little babies are even bothing to post and B@#$% about any of this? If you all know so much and are that angry with sony then please by all means STICK it to them and just stop playing EQ.
All this whinning?
# May 03 2011 at 10:54 AM Rating: Decent
17 posts
Kahonen wrote:


Who but Sony decided to use Apache without carrying out security patches on it?? Who but Sony decided to keep personal details from an old unprotected database where it could be externally accessed? Who but Sony care so little about their customer's personal details that it has taken them almost 3 weeks to even tell those customers they may have a problem.




Hi

I would love to know how you determined the exact Apache version, configuration and modules being used, as well as how you confirmed that it was an externally accessible database ?
All this whinning?
# May 03 2011 at 11:22 AM Rating: Decent
sony is just another comapany that doesnt care about its customers or its employees...... and i think thats why they were a target of the hackers....... and I heard that somewhere tooo..... achache..... when the whole thing with play station happend...... wow i understand everyones on edge i am too....no use us acuseing each other though were just the players....the victims :(
Good Work Sony
# May 03 2011 at 9:08 AM Rating: Decent
yes we all hate that the servers are down and that we cant play what we pay for but the inconvenience is worth it to make sure they fix the problem.I am not mad at sony yes this maybe some of the fault but in no WAY is it all there fault. Things happen and this can happen to any place. why don't you all stop complaining and let them do there job,at lease they are fixing it and not letting it slide by witch would have made it worser then it is right now. yes we don't know how long it will be down but i can't see it being down longer then a week and yes sony will make it up to us. i am happy with sony for doing what they did. we are the customer's and they saw a problem and took it down big deal people they wanted to fix it right then and there when they saw this problem. Sony is doing there best to get the servers back up... Geesh people grow up..It's so stupid to be whining that the servers aren't up the will be up when sony and the third party's feel the server's are safe.. So with enough being said get a life people..and grow up and stop whining and complaining and GOOD JOB SONY

Edited, May 3rd 2011 11:18am by Fireflowers
This is it
# May 03 2011 at 8:44 AM Rating: Decent
To kill my boredom, I purchased RIFT and gave it a try. WOW 2.0 is an accurate statement. It will do for me.

Longer SOE takes to resolve this problem, more people will walk away. Thanks ZAM for updating information and board. I found this site invaluable over the years. I found out more information from this site past few days than dumb SOE web sites with one web page notification.
How long does it take one to create a separate web site detailing their progress and a board for customers to discuss their frustrations and
support. It only takes redirects which they already have. I can set one up in one hour. Instead it is same old SOE. Their lack of understanding of customer service and satisfaction is astounding. It would have done lot of good, if Smedley had posted something and promise of constant updates. If they don't have capability of creating an alternate communication with customers, at least they should feed information to ZAM.

Persoanlly, I feel this will be an eventual death blow to SOE and possibly the end of my EQ subscription. I am sure they will settle with lawsuits and in order to recover the legal fees, they will eventually increase the subscription rates to $20/month. That would do it for me.
How Many Games Have been Hacked?
# May 03 2011 at 8:42 AM Rating: Decent
So with all the upset over SOE and reading how so many people want to just pick up and run to another game (knowing they really won't or they will be back) I started to wonder just how many games have been hacked over the years.

A quick Google search pulled up MANY including Rift, WOW and many others. If you know of a game that you played or you Googled and found where it too had been hacked post it here. I think it will open the eyes of many just having a list of all the games that have had issues. It's not JUST SOE as many have said before.

So to start the list of games that have been hacked in the past, the top of the list is ...

World Of Warcraft
Rift
Ryzom
Lord of the Rings Online
Aion
hmmm
# May 03 2011 at 8:40 AM Rating: Good
i'm 28, live with GF and probly make more money then you! and play eq. why everyone gotta be 40 and live in there parents basement? you speaking from exp.?
#REDACTED, Posted: May 03 2011 at 8:34 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) the only people left in eq are the 40 year old fatso's living in mom and dads basement all pasty white because they havent seen the sun in 12 years. The highlight of their day is "YOU hit a large snake for 20 damage" .. the fact that all these mongloids cant login to their stupid addiction is funny you can picture them all pulling the little hair they have left out and raging at the computer screen!
haha
# May 03 2011 at 9:41 AM Rating: Good
I rarely speak up in these rant/anti-rant forums. However I wish to make objection to the previously stated stereotype. I am in my 40's, yes...45 to be exact. But I live in my own, fully paid for house with my gorgeous wife and two children. I am a retired carpenter due to work related injuries. I have built enough houses that I am sure that at least a dozen of you reading this live in one of them. Because my injuries are in my legs I do mostly sit down activities like online gaming. Please get your facts straight.

Edited, May 3rd 2011 1:02pm by Morrpheus
haha
# May 03 2011 at 11:34 AM Rating: Decent
rock on!!!!! do you play a carpenter? and shut up stupid people i am 25 and have my own apt and a 3year old and a bf who i got into eq2 and my parents 45 and 57 are also into eq2(they actually play more than i do) even my grand father plays (yes he owns his own freaking house and has my hot grandndma tooo and 4 daughters who dont live at home) ...... so up yours stereo types!!!!!
haha
# May 03 2011 at 2:51 PM Rating: Decent
thewillows wrote:
rock on!!!!! do you play a carpenter? and shut up stupid people i am 25 and have my own apt and a 3year old and a bf who i got into eq2 and my parents 45 and 57 are also into eq2(they actually play more than i do) even my grand father plays (yes he owns his own freaking house and has my hot grandndma tooo and 4 daughters who dont live at home) ...... so up yours stereo types!!!!!


Seriously this made me laugh so hard I my tears started to flow. Lol dunno why really buy "rock on!!!!! do you play a carpenter?" still makes me giggle.
haha
# May 03 2011 at 12:27 PM Rating: Decent
thewillows wrote:
rock on!!!!! do you play a carpenter? and shut up stupid people i am 25 and have my own apt and a 3year old and a bf who i got into eq2 and my parents 45 and 57 are also into eq2(they actually play more than i do) even my grand father plays (yes he owns his own freaking house and has my hot grandndma tooo and 4 daughters who dont live at home) ...... so up yours stereo types!!!!!


Actually one of my favored characters on SWG is a Structures Trader...:)
Speaking of which, I wonder if factory and harvester production will maintain throughout this down time. Anyone hear anything on that subject?

P.S. Thought your nick to be kinda cute since my daughter's first name is Willow...:)

Edited, May 3rd 2011 3:39pm by Morrpheus
haha
# May 03 2011 at 9:08 AM Rating: Good
I'm 55, live in my paid-for home in Colorado, have the day off, and spent much of the morning cleaning the garage. Time to take a load of junk to the dump. If this goes on for weeks I will eventually summon the fortitude to clean the basement.

I'd like to see EQ come back up soon, as I strongly prefer raiding over watching TV-for-idiots as my evening activity. Until it does come back I guess there's baseball on radio; the Rockies have had a good start. I'm far from desperate enough to start a new game - one time sink is all I can afford.

I realize SOE has to take the time necessary to investigate and close loopholes. I have seen an increase in spam email the last few days; nothing particularly targeted, just many offers for fake products. It's impossible to prove there's a connection to the SOE hack, but it would be interesting to know if others have also seen a sudden increase in spam.

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Den of Misfits
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haha
# May 03 2011 at 8:58 AM Rating: Good
17 posts
sc30 wrote:
the only people left in eq are the 40 year old fatso's living in mom and dads basement all pasty white because they havent seen the sun in 12 years. The highlight of their day is "YOU hit a large snake for 20 damage" .. the fact that all these mongloids cant login to their stupid addiction is funny you can picture them all pulling the little hair they have left out and raging at the computer screen!


Bad assumption.
I am a 55 year old IT guy, living in AZ with wife and my own house with a pool out back. Just laid some sod in the back yard last week with my son, who works for the police dept, is married and expecting his 1st child.

I am a casual gamer and he does raids after work. Guess we are the exception based on your viewpoint.
haha
# May 03 2011 at 3:48 PM Rating: Decent
Well I am 40, I do live with my mother. Problem is you have things a bit twisted.

I'm a small business owner, My mother, Brother, Wife, 5 Children, 3 St. Bernards, 1 Cat, 1 Rabbit all live here with me in my wonderful home on several acres.

I've been playing for 10 years, started with my brother in law (who is a deputy) and about a dozen of his buddies from work. We played on the Innoruk Server playing EQ and then moved to EQ2 so you see sterotypes are for morons.

Updates??
# May 03 2011 at 8:29 AM Rating: Decent
22 posts
Any further word on if and when EQ will be back up???
Shady SOE
# May 03 2011 at 8:24 AM Rating: Decent
I just can't believe they billed most of us the day the server went down. Just love the ETA on the servers unknown then billing me on the same day. What is really strange SOE normally bills me ever 7th of each month. This month on the 2nd. I went back almost 9 months and they have always billed me on the 7th. What stink even more you cant even cancel the accounts
Shady SOE
# May 03 2011 at 9:16 AM Rating: Decent

Roadgator wrote:
I just can't believe they billed most of us the day the server went down. Just love the ETA on the servers unknown then billing me on the same day. What is really strange SOE normally bills me ever 7th of each month. This month on the 2nd. I went back almost 9 months and they have always billed me on the 7th. What stink even more you cant even cancel the accounts


try reading the financial terms of service that you agreed to - there is sepcificly a statement and the game MAY NOT be available at all times, this is a standard disclaimer in ALL games

You do realize that even if you where able to cancel the subscription there are no refunds per the same financial terms of service again the standard statement in ALL online ames

You read those didn't you?
Shady SOE
# May 03 2011 at 5:40 PM Rating: Decent
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Changing the billing cycle might not be legit though. Normally when a company decides to bill on an earlier date they compensate you for the extra days you already paid for. However I think that part was accidental due to them freezing the servers and installing new software. Will likely be fixed soon.
Sony wont be up tonite... or
# May 03 2011 at 8:22 AM Rating: Decent
Today or tonite or tommorrow or next week...
Time
# May 03 2011 at 8:15 AM Rating: Decent
16 posts
Hope these servers come up soon. I need some hack and slash!! My endurance is getting low and I'm already using Respite RK. III
Hack
# May 03 2011 at 7:39 AM Rating: Decent
YouTube has a posted video from Anon... They are saying they have hacked Sony because of something to do with the PS3 and something they took away from it..if you want to see the post for yourself it's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BplEYMDGH4Q

As far as quitting because you were billed and can't play...well...if your reading comprehension is that bad....So bad you don't see that they are giving us a month, Plus every day it's down....I personally wouldn't want to accidentally windup grouping with you.
servers down. ha, not all of them
# May 03 2011 at 7:32 AM Rating: Decent
I'm not frothing at the mouth about the outage the way some people are. It does show a disturbing level of incompetence, but it happens. What's really got me annoyed is that their damn billing server appears to still be up and I've just been bloody charged for a service I cannot cancel (web server down), and cannot use (game servers down).

When the servers come up I'm gone. ***** them.
servers down. ha, not all of them
# May 03 2011 at 8:26 AM Rating: Decent
My comprehension is fine. Free play time, fine. I'm annoyed because they billed me _today_ for a service they are not supplying. How is that in any way reasonable. Stop billing till they're supplying does not seem that bad an idea.
servers down. ha, not all of them
# May 03 2011 at 11:43 AM Rating: Decent
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Wonder if they're charging the renewal fee a little early to help them pay for the cost of this problem. If they are working "around the clock" and rehosting their services it must be pretty expensive...

I imagine it may have seemed to be a good cost-cutting move to consolidate all their games' customer info in one place, but look what happened.
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servers down. ha, not all of them
# May 03 2011 at 8:00 AM Rating: Decent
Good riddance!
update
# May 03 2011 at 7:18 AM Rating: Good
its been 13 hours since last update from SoE, could you guys use your muscle and get a hold of smed for some more inside info on an ETA, or find out if i should find something else to do today
Compensation for downtime
# May 03 2011 at 6:55 AM Rating: Decent
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I'd rather they gives us in game things as compensation rather than free play time as that costs them money but doesn't mean that much to me. One month free at $15 dollars is small to me but times all the subscribers is big to SOE. In the long run, since I want EQ2 to thrive, I'd rather they have the money to do so. Give me something cool in game (double XP week, fluff, whatever).

account expired a day ago
# May 03 2011 at 6:38 AM Rating: Decent
OH MAN! My account time was up May 1st, I hope it still gets 30 days added LOL.
Time off
# May 03 2011 at 6:11 AM Rating: Good
Well I needed some time away from the Game anyway just had my 4th Grandchild. I need to print out her and my new great nieces pictures that was just born. Thank you Sony for giving me the time off you will be in my prays sounds to me you going to need a few God Bless your friend Babiebrat
Time to quit
# May 03 2011 at 5:38 AM Rating: Decent
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Man, I played EQ from Tokyo from 2000 until 2009. If some hacker got my CCD info I will personally kick the mountain dew and pringles from their rotten teeth.

I called my bank in Japan and they said it's ok so far.

Going to delete all info from my 3 accounts anyway to be safe. Sad that I played for 12 years and it ends up like this.

With a family to be responsible for, I can't take the chance.

A good reason to quit EQ after more than a decade. Love the game. But oh well.
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Time to quit
# May 03 2011 at 7:17 AM Rating: Default
-REDACTED-
33 posts
Your overreacting. Change your credit card numbers and passwords on your accounts
Time to quit
# May 03 2011 at 7:30 AM Rating: Decent
CoolBeans wrote:
Your overreacting. Change your credit card numbers and passwords on your accounts

This is a wind up, right?

Do you have any idea at all of just how much damage someone can do to your current and future personal life with just the information that SOE have admitted has been stolen?

Go back and read the real SOE response then ask yourself why they are offering assistance with signing up with a local identity theft agency.

If the hackers are reading the responses in this forum, they must be rubbing their hands in glee.

Edited, May 3rd 2011 9:30am by Kahonen

Edited, May 3rd 2011 9:31am by Kahonen
SOE Hacked - You need to act now!
# May 03 2011 at 4:50 AM Rating: Good
It seems that a lot of people posting comments like "blame the hackers" and "thank you Sony for keeping our data safe" need to get a grasp of reality. Sony left the door open on this by leaving an insecure database open to external access. They use Apache software which is known to have very bad security weaknesses and have not carried out ANY security patches since 2008.

Before you breathe a sigh of relief and think your credit card is safe so you're safe you need to think again. In most cases the information that has been stolen far exceeds that needed to, for example, take out an online loan. When you get a letter or an e-mail from a debt collection agency in 6 months time demanding to know why the loan you took out is not being paid, see what your attitude to Sony is then.

You are ALL targets for identity theft and need to act accordingly. Stop thinking you are safe and thanking Sony - that is exactly the attitude the hackers want - it gives them more time to exploit your data. If you really believe the worst that is going to come from this a few days where you can't log in to play EQ2 can I please borrow your credit card, I promise I won't use it.

SOE Hacked - You need to act now!
# May 03 2011 at 8:32 AM Rating: Decent
*
158 posts
Kahonen wrote:
It seems that a lot of people posting comments like "blame the hackers" and "thank you Sony for keeping our data safe" need to get a grasp of reality. Sony left the door open on this by leaving an insecure database open to external access. They use Apache software which is known to have very bad security weaknesses and have not carried out ANY security patches since 2008.

Before you breathe a sigh of relief and think your credit card is safe so you're safe you need to think again. In most cases the information that has been stolen far exceeds that needed to, for example, take out an online loan. When you get a letter or an e-mail from a debt collection agency in 6 months time demanding to know why the loan you took out is not being paid, see what your attitude to Sony is then.

You are ALL targets for identity theft and need to act accordingly. Stop thinking you are safe and thanking Sony - that is exactly the attitude the hackers want - it gives them more time to exploit your data. If you really believe the worst that is going to come from this a few days where you can't log in to play EQ2 can I please borrow your credit card, I promise I won't use it.


The only info taken that is not already public record items if you've ever filed taxes, have a listed phone, bought a house, get any kind of junk mail already with your name on it, etc is your A) that you do business with SOE and B ) the account login and password hash. Being worried about the public record items is daft. Reasonable precautions on the rest like changing your password and not responding to phishing/social engineering tricks is all you really need to do in this case, plus monitoring accounts and credit reports regularly which everyone should already be doing in this day and age even before the SOE incident. And if you are concerned that they aren't telling the whole story on cc#'s then ask your bank for new cards. But other than that panicking is ridiculous as is all the FUD being posted to scare people.b
SOE Hacked - You need to act now!
# May 03 2011 at 5:32 AM Rating: Decent
16 posts
lol this happens everyday of the year man. Nothing is safe via internet in todays world. It's not just Sony. At least there taking measures and updating their security.
SOE Hacked - You need to act now!
# May 03 2011 at 6:27 AM Rating: Decent

They are taking measures after they were breeched, not before.
SOE Hacked - You need to act now!
# May 03 2011 at 5:08 AM Rating: Decent
Kahonen wrote:
It seems that a lot of people posting comments like "blame the hackers" and "thank you Sony for keeping our data safe" need to get a grasp of reality. Sony left the door open on this by leaving an insecure database open to external access. They use Apache software which is known to have very bad security weaknesses and have not carried out ANY security patches since 2008.

Before you breathe a sigh of relief and think your credit card is safe so you're safe you need to think again. In most cases the information that has been stolen far exceeds that needed to, for example, take out an online loan. When you get a letter or an e-mail from a debt collection agency in 6 months time demanding to know why the loan you took out is not being paid, see what your attitude to Sony is then.

You are ALL targets for identity theft and need to act accordingly. Stop thinking you are safe and thanking Sony - that is exactly the attitude the hackers want - it gives them more time to exploit your data. If you really believe the worst that is going to come from this a few days where you can't log in to play EQ2 can I please borrow your credit card, I promise I won't use it.



got proof of your claims?
SOE Hacked - You need to act now!
# May 03 2011 at 1:04 PM Rating: Default
My sentiments exactly, where is your proof they haven't patched the system since 2008? And how do you know this? Maybe YOU are the hacker, since you seem to know so much about their systems!!
Thank you
# May 03 2011 at 3:55 AM Rating: Decent
16 posts
Sony, thank you for the updates. Hopefully we can nab those hacker fools and they can spend some time with Bubba.
the blame game
# May 03 2011 at 2:54 AM Rating: Good
Scholar
*
78 posts
I BLAME KORSAK! /em snickers softly
started out psn but now pc and mac too
# May 03 2011 at 2:30 AM Rating: Decent
Quote:
Sony was hacked. Our personal information was possibly stolen (I haven't quite followed enough to know if it was just PSN or all of sony's subscription info).

started out mid april psn but early yesterday morning the shut down was to pc and mac because it was discovered in their investigation that the character files emails etc. were also compromised. The extra 30 days + will not help me either, I have life time membership in the two games I play hopefully they will do something special for us too.

Edited, May 3rd 2011 4:40am by cheetaramon
started out psn but now pc and mac too
# May 03 2011 at 3:31 AM Rating: Decent
Lifetime memberships!!! /jealous. Where can I farm a drop like that??


Rae x
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