http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjOPXpd9PSU

Hello, SONY.
We are Anonymous.

It has come to the attention of the Anonymous activist community that you have chosen to stand by the Stop Online Piracy Act. This act will halt online businesses and restrict access to many sites for many users. Supporting SOPA is like trying to throw an entire company from off a bridge. Your support to the act is a signed death warrant to SONY Company and Associates. Therefore, yet again, we have decided to destroy your network. We will dismantle your phantom from the internet. Prepare to be extinguished. Justice will be swift, and it will be for the people, whether some like it or not. Sony, you have been warned.

To those doubting our powers. We’ve infiltrated the servers of Bank of America, The United States Department of Defense, The United Nations, and Lockheed Martin. In one day.

For their approval to SOPA, we have also declared that our fury be brought upon the following persons. Justin Bieber. Lady Gaga. Kim Kardashian. and Taylor Swift.

Operation Blackout, engaged.
Operation Mayhem, engaged.
Operation LulzXmas, engaged.

We are Anonymous.
We are Legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.

Supporters of SOPA, you should’ve expected us.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is the highly controversial bill that, if passed, would give the US government and copyright holders powers to block access to “rogue websites dedicated to infringing or counterfeit goods”. But SOPA has received growing criticism by free speech activists and tech companies like Google and Facebook due to the vague terminology of the bill, which could mean sites like YouTube (or even PSLS) could be blocked for having copyrighted material submitted by users rather than the actual site owners.

With Sony being one of the largest publishers and producers of films, music and games, piracy has severely impacted their profits, and have a vested interest in SOPA being passed. While it’s fair to protest SOPA and any company that supports it, Anonymous’ actions earlier this year showed that the group is willing to let normal consumers suffer from their attacks.

It’s important to note that Anonymous have no central leadership, and this video seems to be the only declaration of war against Sony so far, so it’s hard to tell just how many Anonymous ‘members’ are actually behind the new attack.

PlayStation LifeStyle will keep you updated with further coverage of Anonymous and the threat, as it develops. In the meantime, we must reiterate the importance of ensuring your password on the PSN is different to other sites.

LATEST STORIES
PS3 v4.10 update is live with an improved browser, Sony Entertainment Network nameplate
BY RICHARD LAWLER
POSTEDFEB 8TH 2012 10:12AM

The latest update for Sony's PlayStation 3 is live and available for download from via your PlayStation Netw...oops, Sony Entertainment Network account. While we get used to the new branding (nothing we could see in the system UI has actually changed at all), there's a few tweaks included in v4.10, like some sorely needed upgrades for the web browser and the ability to set the time and date automatically upon each sign-in. A scan of the forums reveals a few who noticed problems with Netflix post-update (which may or may not be update related, deleting Netflix data from the Game Data utility section and/or installing the newest version seems to fix the issue), however most are just seeing significantly better scores in browser benchmarks like Acid3 and HTML5 Test, better compatibility with most webpages and improved YouTube playback (still 240p). Let us know if you notice any other changes, the system should prompt you the next time you log on for a quick round of Final Fantasy XIII-2.

PlayStation Network down for 14 hours on Thursday

By Chris Smith

Sony says it is taking the PlayStation Network offline for 14 hours on Thursday to perform essential maintenance.

The Network will be down from 4pm on Thursday until 6am on Friday morning UK time, meaning new PS Vita owners will have to do without online play or access to the PlayStation Store.

The outage, which of course will affect PS3 owners also, represents the third time in as many months that Sony has taken the Network down for regular scheduled maintenance.

A post on the official PlayStation blog says that this particular outage will see the PSN become a completely no access zone.

"Unlike typical maintenance events, consumers who are already signed-in to PSN will be signed-out, and consumers will be unable to sign in for the duration of the maintenance window.

"During this time, users won't be able to access the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home, Account Management or play online."

The news will come as a blow to anyone who has splashed out on a PS Vita as a payday treat over the last couple of days.

You do get the sense that Sony is being extra careful these days following the great PSN outage of 2011 following a hack that saw personal details of over 100m users compromised.

Sony Fined $400,000 for the 2011 PlayStation Network Hack

by Ron Duwell | January 25, 2013 8

PSN HackedSony has received a slap on the wrist for its 2011 PlayStation Network security breach. A U.K. Based watchdog group called Information Commissioner’s Office, ironically abbreviated as ICO, has hit the Japanese electronics giant with a £250,000 (approx. $400,000 USD) fine.

While pocket change for the electronics conglomerate, the fine is still the third largest ever handed out by the commission. Deputy Commissioner David Smith puts the blame on Sony’s doorstep, claiming that they should have known better

“There’s no disguising that this is a business that should have known better. It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe.”

In April 2011, hackers attacked the PlayStation Network and unearthed over 77 million account names, password, and email addresses, one of the largest data security breaches in history. With no other option, Sony was forced to shut down the PlayStation Network after three days of being unable to control the spread on April 20th. The shutdown lasted 24 days.

A similar attack also occurred the following month, exposing 25 million other accounts.

Sony received a lot of criticism for how poorly coded all of their information was, especially by the hackers themselves. All of the information was reportedly “right there” once the hackers gained access, and they claimed a point needed to be made that such a large corporation needs to do better. For the most part, the ICO and Smith agreed.

“If you are responsible for so many payment card details and log-in details then keeping that personal data secure has to be your priority. In this case that just didn’t happen, and when the database was targeted – albeit in a determined criminal attack – the security measures in place were simply not good enough.”

Sony is planning an appeal of the fine, and they have until Feb. 13th to pay it reduced by 20 percent. Sony’s massive apology tour, heard especially through the halls of E3 that year, was a kind gesture, and they have done a great job fixing their image. I would think that the fine would be a small price to pay rather than to let the past drag out even longer.

Source ICO
Via Ars Technica

Sony Launches Web-Based PlayStation Store

By Stephanie Mlot
January 25, 2013 05:08pm EST

The Sony Entertainment Network online store is now open to gamers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.

The move means gamers can now purchase content on the Web as well on their console. Sony began testing the store in Europe last month, and expanded availability this week, now offering the option to browse with a keyboard and mouse, instead of just a game controller.

The store offers a selection of games, add-ons, movies, TV shows and other PlayStation 3, PSP, and PS Vita content for download or purchase.

To access the new online marketplace, sign into the store with a Sony Entertainment Network or PlayStation Network username and password. All purchases will be added to the "My Downloads" section in the virtual store on the various PlayStation consoles.

According to Sony, players can look forward to more features coming to the store, including automatic remote downloads, in the future.

"Following the redesign of the PlayStation Store, the new online store offers similar filter and sorting features — making it easier than ever to find what you're looking for and discover new digital content," store director Grace Chen wrote in a blog post.

In November, Sony officially launched an update to its PlayStation Store, combining a new design with new organization and search features, including streaming trailers, filter options, improved graphics, and more available game and video information.

Almost a year ago, the game maker rolled its PlayStation Network into the existing Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) in an effort to unify the company's branding, following a tough 2011 for the PlayStation Network, which went black for several weeks after a massive hack in April.

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