Update
So PlayStation network is back up, and I'm laughing my ass off. Where PSN has gone back up, the playstation servers have gone back down once again. Why? Not because they got hacked again, nooooo... The servers went back down because there were too many requests on the server. Allow me to roll on the floor while my butt leaves the back of my body.
Alright I'm back. Of course the servers being down now is very temporary, and we can expect them to be up from now on. Sony hasn't done a great job on getting their services back online, they're slow and they've already spotted mistakes. Let's just hope that at least it's secure this time because I'm not having my information stolen. Let's also hope, with a quote from 'the situation', this is not the hack before the hack.
Introduction
If you're at all like me, you know what it's like to be a semi-hardcore or even a hardcore gamer. It means sitting in your desk chair, bent forward, eyes so close to your screen you could swear that Nefarian is trying to kiss you, on the lips. After a while your eyes start to hurt, but you pull through it. Then your back starts to hurt, but you pull through it. Then your ears start to hurt and you just have to give in to your body. As you take off your headphones and throw them on your table your body tells you you've been playing for way too long. You lay down on your bed where you can swear you can still hear the creepers behind you, that you can still shoot someone in the face with a noobtube, or that you can shoot fireballs from your hands.
I was in this situation every day for two weeks, a couple weeks ago. I felt terrible every night and my back started to hurt more and more, so I gave up on hardcore gaming. This was quite the move for me because I used to play games so fanatically that I was used to calling off friends, family and even my girlfriend (games > sex?) because I wanted to play just one more war, finish one minecraft building, or hit level 85 again. Because I will never really quit gaming, my PlayStation-owning friend and I left to go to the 'Intertoys', which is a toy store in the Netherlands. I walked in, bought a PlayStation 3, bought Portal 2, and went back home. When I got home I connected the console to my newly bought 27" full HD screen and popped in Portal 2. "Sweet!" I shouted, as I lay down on my bed with the controller in my hand, wanting to co-op with this friend of mine, who installed Portal 2 on my computer. I let my PlayStation find my wireless network and went to "Create a PlayStation Network account".
Error: 8002A203
Alright, shit happens. Let's try again!
Error: 8002A203
Okay, this is pissing me off, what is going on? I open my laptop and check the playstation site.
Site Maintenance Notice
The server is currently down for maintenance.
We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.
God damnit, why does this always happen to me? Okay, screw it, it'll be up in a couple hours, or a day, and then I'll be able to play.
Guess what, it's still down, and this story was all a week ago!
The Situation
Unfortunately Sony has had to admit that PlayStation Network was indeed hacked just before they took the PlayStation Network (And Qriocity) down so the hacker(s) could not do any more damage. Because I am allowed to form an opinion on this subject, and because I am not Fox news (so my opinion is based on facts, and has been thought about), I would like to say that it took Sony way too long to admit the fact that they were indeed having issues keeping hackers out the door (3 days, which is enough for any hacker to empty a couple thousand credit cards).
The hackers were unfortunately able to steal a, and excuse my language, shitload of user information. Although nobody is completely sure how many of the 77 million users are affected by the hack, we do know that enough information was stolen for it to be a very, very big problem. There have already been reports of people getting their credit cards emptied, and their identities stolen.
Although I cannot verify this information completely, I have heard that credit cards acquired by these hackers, from the PlayStation Network are being sold and bought on underground hacking, and fraud websites. Because I hope nobody here knows how to get credit cards, or how much they would cost if you buy them from a hacker, here is some general information.
If you're a PlayStation Network user and if you have had your information stolen, your credit cards details are currently being sold for 3$ per credit card. This means that for 3$, a hacker could empty your credit card, without you ever knowing who it was.
SOE
Although normally I find that it's the other way around, PC gamers have been poking fun at PS3 gamers. Well, until May 1st that was, because on May 1st, the SOE (Sony Online Entertainment) system was taken offline as well, effectively taking down games such as Everquest, and Star Wars Galaxies. SOE was taken down for the exact same reason as PSN, plus they're changing their server setup quite a bit. With this, Sony hopes to provide you with faster servers, and less lagg. Any advice I give in this post works for SOE users as well as it does for PSN users, so listen up!
Alright, enough scaring you, let's find solutions!
What should you do?!
Let's assume that you have never had your credit card details stolen before, and that you have no clue what to do. Here are some steps you should most definitely take.
1. Change your password
As we've seen here on MMowned as well, a lot of people use the same password for everything. If you are someone that does this, change your password on everything, they have your email, and your password, so change it before they can!
List of important sites you should probably change your password to:
1. MMOwned.com (Of course <3)
2. Paypal.com
3. Ebay.com
4. Mastercard/Visa.com (I don't actually know their systems, but I reckon there's something you should change)
5. Your Email
6. Your Battle.net account
7. Anything else your email account is attached to
2. Change your secret questions + answers
This information was also stolen, and you do not want people to find your password anyway!
The same sites go for this topic.
3. Check your shit!
Has your information been used yet? Are you accounts different yet? Have the hackers already messed with your accounts? Check it and find out!
Same list, although paypal is probably most important here.
4. Keep your money!
Make sure you check your bank, change your information on it if you've used any of this info on your PSN account. Also, change some of your credit card information. Most credit card companies allow you to change your number, or *** (Security code). You should also report to your bank and credit card company about your stuff getting hacked, just so they know.
5. Keep your identity
You have to make sure that new bank accounts aren't opened on your name, so get a credit check and check around.
A funny story about this is the story of a friend of mine, who got his information stolen a couple years back, in his own city.
We walked around our gamestore because he wanted to buy a new game, two months after having all of his information stolen. He didn't have the cash he needed to buy the game so we went to his bank to get some money. As we walked in we heard some 23-year old guy tell the bank employee that he would like to open a new bank account, but on my friend's name. My friend, kind of scared, walked up to him and said "But I'm [FRIEND'S NAME ], so ehm, yeah...".
The 23-year old guy tried to make a run for it, but my friend tackled him (Rugby player) and the bank's security jumped on them. Eventually my friend got everything back, and the 23-year old got arrested for identity theft.
Still Down?!
Yes, I know, PlayStation Network is still down. I hate it too. Luckily, PlayStation promised it's users that some of the services would be back up this week. Unfortunately, this week ends tomorrow and there's no signs of PlayStation getting ready to put their networks back online. Of course they will put their networks online when they're ready for it and I'm sure that they'll do a better job at securing their systems. In the mean time just check their website and their Twitter, where they update their users.
Website:
PlayStation Blog : The official PlayStation Blog for news updates on PlayStation Network, PlayStation 3, PSP and NGP
Twitter:
Was it you?!
No, was it you?! To be honest, I don't know who the hackers are. Not a lot of people do.
While people have of course been looking at the Hacktivist group called 'Anonymous', who have been threatening Sony, they have denied being a part of the attack. I personally think that it was indeed not a collective attack by Anonymous, but that one, or a couple, of the Anonymous hackers have decided that the PlayStation Network deserved to go down, and took initiative.
My conclusion is that, although my information wasn't stolen (since I haven't been able to make a PSN account yet), PlayStation should really learn how to protect their information. A company that has 77 million users that all share sensitive information should make it as close as they can to impossible to steal this information.
My article can be considered late, but I wanted to wait with giving you this info, because I wanted to know everything I could learn about the situation, before I informed you guys.