Anonymous Members Hint at Unofficial Involvement in PSN Attack

[Xanthious]

I'm in agreement with Actual. If the hackers just sit on this information and ultimately do nothing with it then bravo to them. They have effectively knocked Sony down a few pegs which is what they deserve after the bullshit they've pulled over the past few years. Furthermore, while I do feel for the people left without PSN and MMO service I think that the black eye this is going to leave on Sony in the long term is nothing short of sweet sweet karma.

Hell as long as they are goodly enough to leave the customers be I'd like to see them hammer away at Sony a few more times. Sony is on the ropes now and this would be the perfect time to just keep at them making Sony look more and more the fool.

However, on the flip side of this if the hackers end up doing actual harm to the Sony customers via credit card fraud, identity theft etc then they will have lost my approval.

 

[WanderingFool]

I'm in agreement with Actual. If the hackers just sit on this information and ultimately do nothing with it then bravo to them. They have effectively knocked Sony down a few pegs which is what they deserve after the bullshit they've pulled over the past few years. Furthermore, while I do feel for the people left without PSN and MMO service I think that the black eye this is going to leave on Sony in the long term is nothing short of sweet sweet karma.

Hell as long as they are goodly enough to leave the customers be I'd like to see them hammer away at Sony a few more times. Sony is on the ropes now and this would be the perfect time to just keep at them making Sony look more and more the fool.

However, on the flip side of this if the hackers end up doing actual harm to the Sony customers via credit card fraud, identity theft etc then they will have lost my approval.

And exactly how far is far? When will it be enough?

 

[Meggiepants]

I love how some of the people here are like, "We can't blame Anonymous for what a few members of their organization do."

Then follow up with statements like, "Sony CEOs should die for what they've done."

Yes, let's not blame Anonymous for encouraging members of its community to break the law in the name of "justice." They can't be blamed because people took this credo and decided what they thought "justice" should be.

But really, we should blame the CEOs of Sony who likely have no involvement in the security infrastructure of their company.

This logic. It is sound.

You cannot promote vigilantism and then get pissed off when your vigilantes do something you don't like. I'm sure these hackers think they are taking Big Bad Sony down a peg like I'm sure they thought Anonymous wanted them to. There is a reason the law in civilized countries has so much oversight. Because vigilantes decide for themselves what the law is as well as when and how to enforce it. Whether or not Anonymous sometimes does things you like, they are working outside the law, with no accountability whatsoever.

And let's not get confused here about the equivalence of the actions of Sony versus the action of the hackers/Anonymous in relation to this data breach. Sony, made a mistake. They did not intentionally go out and attempt to distribute your information, take your credit cards, or otherwise destroy your life in any way. That would be counterproductive. They are a company and accountable for their actions. We can already see that with people joining class action suits against them. Yes, Sony should have been more secure. But this is a very different crime than the one committed by the hackers.

It's the hackers who have done the most wrong here. Sony foolishly thought their security was good enough. There was no malicious intent on their part. The same can't be said for the persons who perpetrated this breach.

If Anonymous truly wants to do some good, to "protect the consumers" as they say, then they would use their considerable skills in tracking down those responsible. After all, we, the consumers, were attacked by these hackers as much as Sony.

 

[ameemo]

"and that the vehement Anonymous denials have stemmed from fear of getting caught by the FBI."
trembling in our boots now are we?

 

[Vigilantis]

I'm one of the PSN customers whose details were stolen, and while I'm pissed at that I'm still not convinced that the hackers are in the wrong.

They stole the personal information including credit card info of everyone who had that information on PSN and are now starting to post some of that information.

How are they not in the wrong. They aren't proving a point. They aren't fighting against Sony's removal of OtherOS. All they are doing is attacking the users of PSN.

You remind me of a beaten housewife with Stockholm Syndrome.

Link me to where they've released the information please? I'd like to see that.

If the reason they did this was to fight against Sony's removal of OtherOS then they are being very effective. The only thing a company like Sony will understand is loss of profit and this will hit their finances hard.

Of course we still don't know if this attack was a moral statement or merely a criminal grab for valuable information.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109843-Sony-Hackers-Publish-Stolen-Personal-Information-Online

Okay, so it's nothing like credit information, but its something. And who are you to say that they are trying to "punish" Sony? What proof do you have that they aren't doing it for personal profit?

I ask you this: If they were trying to prove a point, why haven't they publicly stated as much?

They do NOT have your, or my, "best interests" at heart. They are being ass holes. Criminal and nothing else. I agree with bob1052. You act like you have Stockholm Syndrome.

Agreed theft is theft. Whether they are making an effective statement or not they involved thousands of unwanted people in their struggle for "justice", if they don't use the information thats great, but I still want them prosecuted to the fullest extent. I didn't care for the removal of the OtherOs, but honestly I'm not too happy with a bunch of internet punks with my information either, and I'm pretty damn pissed at the hackers more than Sony at this moment.

 

[zehydra]

or you know, become centered?

They really need to implement a screening process to weed out the douche-bags

or you know, form an actual leadership?

the lack of leadership is a defining element of the group "anonymous", to the point that any part of Anonymous that establishes leadership will no longer be considered part of anonymous.

 

[Legendsmith]

To use an analogy.
Take some guy who builds cars at a small-time factory. He then goes home and builds a car. He takes that car drives through the building of a large corporation, causing a lot of damage.
You can't blame the other people in factory he works at.

-snip-

I see your point and it is a valid one, but it does not apply.
It is the fault of the CEOs. Anon has no structure, people aren't responsible for each other.
In a corporation, the CEO is liable for what his employees do on his orders.
Now, I still agree that we shouldn't be blaming the CEOs. Who we should be blaming are the people who made the decision to basically try to own the Playstation 3 console after it was sold to a customer.
The CEOs probably approved this.

Why is "trying to own the Playstation 3 console after it was sold to a customer" a bad thing? Well, it lead to a whole lot of these problems with their security.

 

[Mxrz]

I love how some of the people here are like, "We can't blame Anonymous for what a few members of their organization do."

Then follow up with statements like, "Sony CEOs should die for what they've done."

Yes, let's not blame Anonymous for encouraging members of its community to break the law in the name of "justice." They can't be blamed because people took this credo and decided what they thought "justice" should be.

But really, we should blame the CEOs of Sony who likely have no involvement in the security infrastructure of their company.

This logic. It is sound.

Mostly impressionable people trying to stick up for their internet heroes & cause so they can feel somehow special or different than the every day folks they see in Walmart. They'll continue to try to rationalize it the best way they can until such a time as they can go "Oh this guy who did it really wasn't one of us!" Even now, you can see the attempts to downplay and rationalize it with the claim that it is 'okay' so long as they don't do anything with the information.

Kind of funny in a sociological-behavior study sort of way. Although, its probably depressing too.

 

[dropZero]

It's fairly obvious that a member of Anonymous did this, whether or not it was approved by the "leadership".

 

[Grunt_Man11]

Well, this story combined with this story, http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109843-Sony-Hackers-Publish-Stolen-Personal-Information-Online, means bad things for old Anonymous.

While the information that got published was old and most likely out of date, that doesn't mean it will not hurt Anonymous' reputation in the eyes of the public, and in the eyes of the internet community.

This gives the message that Anonymous are liars, and don't actually care about online privacy and net neutrality.

Wither or not that is true doesn't matter. That is the message many people are getting, or will get, from this.

 

[samsonguy920]

or you know, become centered?

They really need to implement a screening process to weed out the douche-bags

or you know, form an actual leadership?

Or, you know, just dry up and blow away? These people aren't doing anything good, and this evidence just confirms that. Their usual tactics of performing DOS attacks on servers accomplishes nothing more than the equivalent of making potholes in the road which disservices everybody, and this is even worse with the fact it is hurting gamers more than it is Sony. The fact that they have no main goal or the spine to stand up and speak openly about what they do makes them look even worse. I have no respect for these people, and, frankly, if they get caught, I hope they spend time with other terrorists in Gitmo and other detention centers.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

They really need to implement a screening process to weed out the douche-bags

Screening goes against what Anonymous is about. Anonymous is not an organization, it is a moniker. Perhaps one could say that there are branches of Anonymous that are sort of like organizations. Particularly AnonOps, which is what most of the discussion of Anonymous on this site is regarding, is pretty well organized. However, AnonOps is a small percent of Anonymous. A small percent that did not organize this attack.

If somebody remains anonymous, and says they are Anonymous, then they are acting as Anonymous. There is no screening because that betrays anonymity.

It is important, however, that we separate the various factions that use the moniker to refer to themselves. Some of are pedophiles and some are internet insurgents. Some are monsters and some are heroes. All have equally valid claim to the title of Anon.

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

They really need to implement a screening process to weed out the douche-bags

Pretty sure that's not how an Anonymous crowd of people on the internet work.

Anyone with an internet connection can be Anonymous and claim that their actions are "unofficial" Anonymous operations. It's just a word for a mob of people you can't identify, who happen to hang out on the same forums as more noteworthy people you can't identify.

 

[ZeZZZZevy]

I love how this is just turning into a mess for both sides. Anon is being erratic and inconsistent, and Sony has a LOT of damage control to deal with.

It seems neither side won here, and it's actually kinda funny. (albeit if you own a ps3 you get the shortest straw of all, it seems the masses just lose here)

 

[Regiment]

If it turns out that Anonymous was behind this mishegas in some way, let it be said that I totally called that as soon as it happened.

And if they weren't, and the hackers weren't associated with them at all (using a group's name does not constitute association), then feel free to call me on it.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

I love how some of the people here are like, "We can't blame Anonymous for what a few members of their organization do."

Then follow up with statements like, "Sony CEOs should die for what they've done."

Yes, let's not blame Anonymous for encouraging members of its community to break the law in the name of "justice." They can't be blamed because people took this credo and decided what they thought "justice" should be.

But really, we should blame the CEOs of Sony who likely have no involvement in the security infrastructure of their company.

This logic. It is sound.

You cannot promote vigilantism and then get pissed off when your vigilantes do something you don't like. I'm sure these hackers think they are taking Big Bad Sony down a peg like I'm sure they thought Anonymous wanted them to. There is a reason the law in civilized countries has so much oversight. Because vigilantes decide for themselves what the law is as well as when and how to enforce it. Whether or not Anonymous sometimes does things you like, they are working outside the law, with no accountability whatsoever.

And let's not get confused here about the equivalence of the actions of Sony versus the action of the hackers/Anonymous in relation to this data breach. Sony, made a mistake. They did not intentionally go out and attempt to distribute your information, take your credit cards, or otherwise destroy your life in any way. That would be counterproductive. They are a company and accountable for their actions. We can already see that with people joining class action suits against them. Yes, Sony should have been more secure. But this is a very different crime than the one committed by the hackers.

It's the hackers who have done the most wrong here. Sony foolishly thought their security was good enough. There was no malicious intent on their part. The same can't be said for the persons who perpetrated this breach.

If Anonymous truly wants to do some good, to "protect the consumers" as they say, then they would use their considerable skills in tracking down those responsible. After all, we, the consumers, were attacked by these hackers as much as Sony.

I agree with the entirety of this post.

 

[Lucane]

Why would you even say something remotely like that? Who is stupid enough to say that they had a small hand in anything illegal? Someone obviously doesn't like to remain Anonymous. I thought this group was dumb before, but now my thoughts have been confirmed.

in my opinion they're saying so to explain why/if the attacks seem to use similar tactics or that someone more loyal to Anonymous' goals found the hole in the security they may of said where it was and/or how to enter it but Anonymous never collectively wanted to use it.

Meaning either someone went rogue or someone not sharing their ideals took the information to use it themselves,after all no one ever said there was honor among thieves hackers.

 

[Lucane]

You know, Anonymous dudes. Sony was under fire recently for not divulging all information immediately. Supposedly to save face. What you just revealed pretty much lends to the idea that Sony wasn't lying, they just came to a misdiagnosis on the problem. Your credibly just sank a little bit.

We could have used this info a bit sooner.

Touché.

it'll sure be nice when this is all over.