Sony: PSN Outage Was a "Great Learning Experience"

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
45,698
1
0
Sony: PSN Outage Was a "Great Learning Experience"


Sony Network Entertainment President Tim Schaaff says the PSN outage [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/tag/psn%20down?from_search=1] was a "great learning experience," albeit one he's not in any hurry to repeat.

We learn from our mistakes. This is as universal a truth as you're ever going to find. When I was a youngster, I jabbed my finger into the glowing orange end of an automobile cigarette lighter, which as my dad pointed out at the time taught me not to do it again. I learned. And so it is that if there's any bright side to the hack that brought the PlayStation Network down, it's the nearly boundless opportunity to learn and grow it presented to Sony.

"We're back online, everything's live again around the world, and the amazing thing through all of this is that the customers have all come back, and network performance is better than ever, sales are better than ever, and we've been very, very pleasantly surprised by the experience," Schaaff said at the MobileBeat Conference.

Sony was initially concerned about being the focal point of hacker attacks, until it became evident that numerous other companies and government sites were coming under fire as well. Ultimately, Schaaff said the company came to realize that merely trying to keep hackers out is not enough.

"It's not just about improving your security, because I've never talked to a security expert who said, 'As long you do the following three things you'll be fine, because hackers won't get you.' The question is how do you build your life so you're able to cope with those things," he said. "It's been a great experience."

"A great experience," he repeated, when pressed about how "great" it was to have PSN knocked out for more than a month. "I would not like to do it again. One time was enough. Great learning experience."

Source: PCMag.com [http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388480,00.asp%3Cbr%20/%3E]


Permalink
 

Low Key

New member
May 7, 2009
2,503
0
0
Indeed, the best learning experience is a very humiliating one. I just hope other online services have taken note. This is just the beginning of high profile cyber crimes. Of course, people willfully handing over their information to anyone asking are also not absolved from responsibility. They need to do their part too. (yeah right...)
 

Easton Dark

New member
Jan 2, 2011
2,366
0
0
Other companies took note of this as well. The veil of security they thought they had is gone.

I'm just hoping no consumers suffer because of any 'enhanced security measures'.
 

DigitalSushi

a gallardo? fine, I'll take it.
Dec 24, 2008
5,718
0
0
Tim Schaaf is so upbeat about everything that was probably a used car salesman in a previous life.

I came back to PSN, and I bought stuff for the first ever time and in fact I'm starting to take more of an interest in the PS Store, its in defiance of the hackers, I will not be frightened by people like that.

Same thing happens with terror threats, me and my friends go out "Drinking against Terrorism".

Although Sony, you was caught sleeping, don't do it again.
 

FalloutJack

Bah weep grah nah neep ninny bom
Nov 20, 2008
15,489
0
0
POINT OF REFERENCE: This does not mean that hackers are right. They're still assholes.
 

King Toasty

New member
Oct 2, 2010
1,527
0
0
At least they're learning, which was the hacker's intention. They should still be arrested, though.
 

figment of mind

New member
Jun 26, 2008
1,898
0
0
It's good to see that their learning and what not but i still wish it hadn't happened.

Now to count the minutes til someone starts flaming Sony...
 

Skops

New member
Mar 9, 2010
820
0
0
I'm not gunna lie, I wouldn't mind waiting around another 3 weeks to get a few more awesome games like Dead Nation and Wipeout HD for free XD. I have a list full of Steam games I have yet to complete!

Capcha: Double Whammy. "WWWHAMMY!!!"
 

Susurrus

New member
Nov 7, 2008
603
0
0
At best this is undiplomatic. Having millions of your customers seriously inconvenienced because you lost all their personal data should not be referred to as a positive thing, in any way, shape or form.
 

vivster

New member
Oct 16, 2010
430
0
0
i wonder what they learned if they are essentially saying in the same breath that there is nothing they can do against hackers
in the end there really is only one thing to keep you save from hackers
don't be a target
which is not really easy because everyone is a potential target

soooo... what did we learn again?
 

SoopaSte123

New member
Jul 1, 2010
464
0
0
Good for them. The whole outage turned out nicely for me, too. I don't usually use PSN, so I got 2 free games and some PlayStation+ stuff out of it. The tradeoff was 1 new credit card, but that seems like a fair trade to me.
 

Loonerinoes

New member
Apr 9, 2009
889
0
0
You know...common sense does say that "Surely, after this, they'll know better!"

But I have no illusions myself about what most people are like. Especially the corporate world, which always seeks to minimize costs for the short term. They might up their security for 6 months or so, just long enough for all the press headlines to report on it and give them their e-cred...then the cutbacks will start coming in...their measures will slowly but surely fall out of date...no one will be looking to invest in updating them again (because most of the people within the corporate culture are so focused on their short-term gain without almost any consideration for past or future experience) and history will just repeat itself again.

Hell, reminded of another Wire quote "Don't matter how many times you get burned, you just keep on doing the same old thing." Granted some people actually *can* break their habits and learn something new,...but I doubt Sony, of all companies, who's always been so adamant about 'Fight the haxorz! Dis is our property!' is one of them.