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Report: Anonymous after Sony execs, not PSN
PlayStation Lifestyle reports that Anonymous has clarified its position regarding attacks on Sony over the abhorrent SOPA law -- keeping in mind that Anonymous isn't a strongly cohesive "group," and so it's not entirely possible to ascribe a single point of view to it. The opening message on the group's "#OpSony" IRC room was reportedly changed to "NO SOPA! NO ATTACK ON PSN!" In an area for planning "ops," the group suggested that "Doxing [posting personal documents] will occur on Sony executives." Other avenues of attack included hacking Sony websites to place anti-SOPA material. This attitude is consistent with statements previously attributed to the group, expressing a desire not to inconvenience Sony customers while carrying out protests against Sony.
Anonymous not targeting Sony customers in OpSony
Internet superhero/supervillain organization Anonymous is at it again, and this time it's leading the charge against internet censorship act SOPA. At the moment, Sony stands in favor of SOPA, and Anonymous does not plan on letting that fly. Considering the fact that this is the group responsible for bringing down PSN last year, many gamers have raised concerns over what Anonymous' latest plan could mean for them. Normal gamers can breathe easily, though, as Anonymous seems to have deemed PSN untouchable. The group also mentioned that it would not be releasing the private information of Sony customers, but some Sony employee information -- including names, addresses, credit card numbers, etc. -- has already been posted online. So there's that, we guess. We're glad that someone is standing up to SOPA, but this could get ugly very quickly. What do you think of Anonymous' OpSony?
New website provides online opt-out services for game EULAs
If you're like most of us, you don't read the giant wall o' legalese that serves as a speed bump on the way to your favorite virtual world. A group of Redditors has, though, and has set up a new website designed to assist gamers in opting out of the clause that prevents participation in potential class action lawsuits leveled against gaming service providers. Apparently opting out requires that a physical letter be mailed to the gaming company in question, and GamersOptOut.com purports to do the tedious work for you (either for free or for a voluntary donation). The catch is that you'll need to provide personal information, including your name, address, and game account name. The website's creators page lists the online handles (as well as Xbox Live, PSN, and Twitter identities) of those responsible, but given the anonymous nature of the site and the privacy concerns raised by providing your personal info, we suggest you proceed with caution. Currently the website features an opt-out form for Sony's PlayStation network and Electronic Arts' new Origin digital delivery service.
Bay Area transit operator cuts cell service to thwart protest, activists abandon cause for Angry Birds
It looks like not even good old civil disobedience can survive without decent reception these days. In a seemingly successful attempt to shut down a protest of BART -- the Bay Area's answer to a subway system -- operators pulled the plug on cell service to multiple train stations, leaving would-be activists without a major organizing tool. The demonstration would have been the second in as many months in response to the shooting of a man by transit police. Officials had this to say in defense of the disruption: A civil disturbance during commute times at busy downtown San Francisco stations could lead to platform overcrowding and unsafe conditions for BART customers, employees and demonstrators. BART temporarily interrupted service at select BART stations as one of many tactics to ensure the safety of everyone on the platform. That didn't seem to sit well with some, as the cutoff has lead to a campaign by hackers, comparing the system to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who disconnected the country's internet during its recent revolution. It may have a ring to it, but muBARTek does seem a little much, don't you think?
Apple servers hacked by Anonymous
According to Anonymous' twitter account, the hacking group used a SQL injection exploit to pull down the usernames and passwords of several accounts from an Apple-run server (abs.apple.com). The passwords appear encrypted so there is little threat that others can abuse this account information. It's more a blow to the company's reputation. The hackers implied they could do more if they wanted, but told the company and the public not to worry as they "are busy elsewhere."
Three suspected members of Anonymous arrested in Spain
The long arm of the law may have finally caught up with some of the hackers behind the recent (and seemingly endless) PSN outage. Authorities in Spain say they have arrested three members of the hacktivist collective Anonymous and seized at least one computer used in the attacks on Sony. Those arrested are believed to have been important in coordinating the group's activities in the country and to have distributed the Loic DDoS tool to others. Now, of course, the Spanish government will have to be on high alert -- if we know one thing about Anonymous, it's that it is not trigger shy when it comes to exacting revenge.
Suspected Sony hackers arrested in Spain
If you've been wondering when (or whether) authorities would be bringing some of the Sony PlayStation hackers to justice, the New York Times has a brief report that you'll want to check out. Three hackers were recently arrested by Spanish police in the cities of Almeria, Barcelona, and Valencia, all of them with suspected connections to the attacks that took the PlayStation Network offline last April as well as cyber assaults on Spanish banks and government websites. The Spanish National Police claim to have "dismantled the local leadership of the shadowy international network of computer hackers known as Anonymous," though the Times article casts doubt on whether or not the three individuals arrested were solely responsible for the Sony brouhaha. The cyber shenanigans will end up costing Sony somewhere in the neighborhood of $173 million due to damages, IT spending, legal fees, lost sales, and expenses related to customer win-back programs.
Tor to fork Firefox for simplified anonymous browsing, doesn't think you're paranoid
Soon political dissidents, whistle blowers, and those trying to cheat MLB.TV's blackout restrictions will have an easier way to protect their privacy thanks to a dedicated Tor Browser. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Tor is a tool for anonymizing web browsing and communications through encryption and proxy servers. Trouble is, it requires both a browser extension and a standalone app to work -- leaving average users "horribly confused," according to developer Mike Perry. So, the organization has decided to retire the Tor Button and create its own fork of Firefox with private browsing features baked in. As an added benefit, Tor will no longer be at the mercy of Mozilla to fix bugs that affect privacy and security. For now, the group will focus on its downloadable bundle with automatic configuration scripts for simplifying setup, but eventually the paranoid will have a browser they can finally call their own.
Anonymous members say Sony attacks were 'likely' connected to movement
The Financial Times reports that two "veteran" members of Anonymous say some element of the organization was "likely" behind the attacks on Sony earlier this month. At least, they're saying that as much as any two people can take credit for a large, essentially unconnected group of strangers. There was an "official" Anonymous movement against Sony called "OpSony," say the veteran members, and according to them, "if you say you are Anonymous, and do something as Anonymous, then Anonymous did it." That's the problem Sony is having with the non-organization -- members of Anonymous have both now taken credit for and denied being behind the attacks, but since Anonymous is by definition a decentralized, self-defined community, it can't really "take credit" or be held responsible for anything itself. That said, while the Anonymous movement is hard to pin down, it is made up of a group of real people, and those people are being investigated as "one of the key targets" by US law enforcement. If and when charges are brought in this case, "Anonymous" won't be on the stand -- it's not a real organization you can arrest or subpoena. But the hackers who were reportedly acting in conjunction with the online movement likely will be.
Hackers say Anonymous was responsible for Sony attack
Sony and its customers may be having identity theft problems, but the hacker collective known as Anonymous is having something of an identity crisis. Despite the group's public disavowal of the attacks that brought down the PlayStation Network (and that later caused SOE to suspend its MMORPG services), one Anonymous member recently told the Financial Times that the infamous group was indeed behind the attacks. "If you say you are Anonymous, and do something as Anonymous, then Anonymous did it. Just because the rest of Anonymous might not agree with it doesn't mean Anonymous didn't do it," the unnamed hacker said. Anonymous had previously distanced itself from the Sony fiasco in a press release circulated earlier this week. A second Anonymous member added that "it's Anon's work. But you can't blame the whole collective for what one or two guys do."
Anonymous denies involvement with PSN hack
Despite Sony's report of an Anonymous slogan found on a compromised SOE server, the hacking group denied responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to The Guardian. The group claimed that this hack, which resulted in the prolonged (and ongoing) outage of the PlayStation Network and the leak of data from millions of accounts, is not in keeping with Anonymous's MO of fighting organizations' criminal activities with hacks. "Public support is not gained by stealing credit card info and personal identities," the statement reads. "We are trying to fight criminal activities by corporations and governments, not steal credit cards." The statement showed confidence in Anonymous's lack of involvement: "If a legitimate and honest investigation into the credit card is conducted, Anonymous will not be found liable. While we are a distributed and decentralized group, our 'leadership' does not condone credit card theft." Of course, the "intrusion" could still have been the work of someone who self-identifies as an Anonymous member; that very "distributed and decentralized" structure makes it difficult to identify officially sanctioned actions by those claiming affiliation. Last month, during intermittent PSN outages, Anonymous issued a release saying that it would not attempt to take PSN down, because it did not want to "severely impact Sony customers."
Sony provides PSN update, confirms a 'compromise of personal information' (updated)
It's looking like things are just as bad as we feared and that "external intrusion" got a little deeper than we might have liked. In an update on its PlayStation.Blog, Sony just confirmed that the ongoing PSN outage was caused by "malicious actions," which we already knew, but continues by indicating that there has also been "a compromise of personal information." Exactly what that means Sony isn't saying, and it stops short of saying that credit card data for PSN and Qriocity users has been exposed, but the company does say "your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained." Yes, it may have been obtained -- even Sony isn't sure. There's no further ETA for when PSN may be back up online or when you might be able to finally sample Portal 2's delicious online co-op mode, but at least you can still watch Netflix. Update: Our friends at Joystiq are reporting that Connecticut Senator Blumenthal is rip roarin' mad about the situation, "demanding answers" from SCEA president Jack Tretton. Right now, we're more curious what Kevin Butler has to say about things. Update 2: Sony UK is shedding more light on just what data has been exposed, and frankly we were happier when it was dark. By the sound of things, everything Sony had about you has been accessed. There's a full list after the break, so only click on through if you dare. Update 3: Sony's just posted a clarification regarding the delay of their response: in a nutshell, PSN was shut down after the intrusion on April 19th, and the company needed to work with outside experts to "understand the scope of the breach" before posting the full lowdown earlier today. For those interested, Sony has a lengthy FAQ page regarding this incident. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
PSN outage due to 'external intrusion' [update]
You might have guessed this already, but it's no simple error that's been keeping the PSN down over the last few days, forcing us into productive activities (like writing this) instead of playing multiplayer Spelunker HD. Sony finally came forward on the PlayStation Blog and admitted that "An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services." Sony says it turned off PSN and Qriocity services on Wednesday to investigate this "intrusion" further. If this is the work of "Anonymous" members, they failed to read their own nebulous organization's press release -- Anonymous supposedly backed off from PSN attacks in early April. It's entirely possible, however, the latest hackers are members of no group other than the loose worldwide confederation of jerks. Update: PlayStation Blog has provided another update on the outage, explaining, "we are working around the clock" to bring the PSN back online. The update adds, "Our efforts to resolve this matter involve re-building our system to further strengthen our network infrastructure. Though this task is time-consuming, we decided it was worth the time necessary to provide the system with additional security."
Anonymous suspends PSN attack
According to AnonNews, a community-driven news site for the nebulous hacktivism cooperative Anonymous, a cease-fire is underway in the group's fight against Sony. Over the last week, Sony's websites, forums, and even the PlayStation Network have been intermittently out of commission, allegedly due to attacks from the group. A press release on AnonNews says that though the group's campaign against Sony will continue in some form, "Anonymous is not attacking the PSN at this time." The group, according to the announcement, is suspending that effort "until a method is found that will not severely impact Sony customers." Even though whoever wrote this might feel that way, of course, there could still be hundreds of thousands of people out there who feel differently and continue attacking PSN. There's no way of knowing how "official" this announcement is, or even how many Anons were into hacking PSN in the first place. The group is, well, anonymous. [Thanks, Raniz]
PlayStation Network issues persist as hacker collective continues attacks
Taking to the US and EU PlayStation Forums en masse, PlayStation 3 users continue to report connectivity issues with PlayStation Network today. Starting with the declaration of attack by hacker group "Anonymous" earlier this week, PSN has been experiencing sporadic issues over the past few days -- Sony characterized the outages as "intermittent" earlier this week, and promised that "engineers are working to restore and maintain the services." As of the time of publishing, we have been unable to connect to PSN today through several staff accounts. According to a Sony EU forum moderator, a trio of error codes could be showing up for affected users (80710092, 80710D36 and 8071053D), though little else is offered in way of information. "We are currently looking into this and I will update the thread as more information becomes available," the post notes. Additionally, PlayStation Lifestyle reports that a splinter group of Anonymous -- identified as "SonyRecon" -- is apparently going after specific Sony executives, seeking to reveal "names, phone numbers, pictures, home addresses, email, internet protocol address, family members and other data." CEO Sir Howard Stringer is said to be one of the group's targets, among others. As previously detailed, Anonymous launched the attacks on Sony earlier this week as a sign of solidarity with hackers George "GeoHot" Hotz and Alexander "Graf_Chokolo" Egorenkov, both of whom are currently in litigation with Sony.
Hacker group 'Anonymous' attacks Sony and PSN
The amorphous hacking collective "Anonymous" is now fighting a war on two fronts -- while one battle continues to rage over WikiLeaks, a new battle has begun with Sony. As of yesterday, Anonymous is focusing efforts on both PlayStation Network and PlayStation's official website, bringing both down at various points. Sony's PlayStation blog noted the issue yesterday, stating that some folks were "experiencing intermittent service" and saying Sony was "working on finding a solution." "We are currently investigating, including the possibility of targeted behavior of an outside party, "Sony senior director of corporate communications and social media Patrick Seybold told us this morning. "If this is indeed caused by such act, we want to once again thank our customers who have borne the brunt of the attack through interrupted service. Our engineers are working to restore and maintain the services, and we appreciate our customers' continued support." A manifesto declaring the group's intentions was posted, which not only declares loyalty to George "Geohot" Hotz and Alexander "Graf_Chokolo" Egorenkov, but also states intentions to "attack your [Sony's] private property because we disagree with your actions." While the group acknowledges this is "wrong," the idea is to mimic what it believes Sony to have done -- restricted the actions of folks trying to use an object they own. Additionally, Ars Technica reports that the group is encouraging people to show up at Sony stores on April 16 and complain. Nothing quite says "stick it to the man" like complaining to retail employees. [Thanks, Aaron]
PlayStation websites, PSN suffer outage: Anonymous claims responsibility, Sony claims 'sporadic maintenance'
Been having trouble with the PlayStation Network or any Sony website today? You're not alone. A widespread outage that started in Europe last night has now spread to North America, and none other than hacktivist group Anonymous is claiming responsibility for the attacks. As you can see above, however, Sony is singing a slightly different tune, and says simply that "sporadic maintenance" may cause PSN service to be interrupted throughout the day. Because, really, you can never do too much "sporadic" maintenance. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Chrome and Firefox adding new opt-out features to prevent third-party advertisers from tracking you
Ever been freaked out by an online ad that seemed to know you that little bit too well? It's the result of good old advertisers tracking your net-navigating habits and delivering targeted commercials to your eyeballs, but it can be prevented. Both Google and Mozilla have stepped up (or perhaps been pushed by the FTC) to try and tackle this issue of pernicious tracking cookies, but they've gone about it in different ways. The Chrome solution is a Keep My Opt-Outs browser extension that remembers the sites you don't want personalized information from, while Firefox will start beaming out a Do Not Track HTTP header that should be respected by advertisers and result in you receiving generic, repetitive ads. The important commonality between the two is that they don't rely on you preparing a cookie file with all your anti-advertiser bile contained within it (which was the FTC's original, somewhat impractical idea). Google intends to open-source its extension and bring it to other browsers as well, though obviously it's taking care of Chrome first, which can benefit from the add-on right now.
Will Anonymous attack Apple?
Could the Internet-driven Anonymous movement possibly bring its DDOS attacks to bear on our favorite Cupertino company? Apple did remove the WikiLeaks application, after all. Not that you can't still access WikiLeaks on the web, but Apple has got to be one juicy target for the Anonymous group. They've gone after not just companies like Visa and Mastercard, but have attacked Sarah Palin and the Swedish government as well. They have said (as much as the loosely-knit organization can speak as a group) it would be "in bad taste" to ruin holiday shopping, however, so maybe Apple will spare the group's wrath, at least until after the season. What do you think? Christmas weekend would appear to be an ideal time, in order to monopolize the attention span of the media on an otherwise slow news day. Imagine Anonymous moving to take the iTunes store down on the day everyone is getting a new Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad or an iTunes gift card. That would make for some major issues (for both Apple and app developers alike), without question. But again, Anonymous doesn't appear to want to frighten the average consumer, so maybe the iTunes store would be a little too close to home. We'll have to wait and see what, if any, the response will be to Apple's removal of the app. Feel free to chime in and share your opinions on the issue in the comments below.
Apple pulls WikiLeaks app from the App Store
Apple has quickly pulled a WikiLeaks app (Google cache) it approved for sale on the App Store earlier this week. The unofficial app went live on the App Store on December 17. The WikiLeaks app gave "instant access to the world's most documented leakage of top secret memos and other confidential government documents," according to The iPhone Download Blog. The blog noted less than two days before the app was pulled that it was "actually surprising that Apple approved such an app, with all of the legal problems that Julian Assange and the WikiLeaks organization have been facing worldwide." TechCrunch has reached out to Apple and the developer for comment, but only the developer has responded so far, saying that Apple changed the official status of his app to "Removed From Sale." It's not too much of a shock that Apple pulled the app, as being seen as associating with or even facilitating funding to WikiLeaks is as about as controversial as you can get right now. The WikiLeaks app sold for US$1.99, but the developer, Igor Barinov, was donating half of his proceeds to WikiLeaks, which could be the ultimate reason why the app was pulled. There are sure to be many questions about why Apple approved then pulled the app in the days to come, but I would love to know what's more worrisome for Apple: the potential pressure/sanctions from various governments if they didn't pull the app, or the fact that the Cupertino company has now probably really, really irritated Anonymous.