Looks like earlier claims from collective Anonymous have come to fruition – several major Sony sites are currently down (looks like a DDoS attack) and the PSN has been, well, intermittent recently.
Sony.com and PlayStation.com look like the worse hit, but other sites are apparently targeted.
Sony’s statement regarding the PSN – that it’s “currently undergoing sporadic maintenance” and “access to the PSN may be interrupted throughout the day” seems a little disingenuous, but we’ll wait and see what happens.
Thanks, PlayStation Lifestyle.
xdarkmagician
The really sad thing about this is Sony’s lawyers will just spin this around to work in their favor. They’ll say that now they’re being targeted and need tougher criminal laws, and a widen scope of power to combat these “cyber-terrorists”. I personally expect Sony to petition the courts now using the infamous “Patriot Act” to bring even more power to their side, as there’s quite a lovely (sarcasm) section on cyber-terrorism. While I agree with the sentiment of these hackers, I think actions as such will not help the cause, and potential cause more problems then they solve. What we need is a huge class action lawsuit that makes Sony buy back everything PS3 related if you no longer agree to the ToS, because their real slogan is “It Only Does Everything… if you continue to agree that, It Can Do What It Wants”.
quinkill
while I agree with most of you statement, I think their actions could help the cause in some ways in that it is informing and bringing to light this very ambiguous issue of ownership (of a product) and the rights one has as a consumer. what people seem to forget is that not all hacking is bad; if you look back at Fred Cohen and Adrian Lamo who were for the most part white or grey hat hackers. They did some great things, for the advancement of technology especially for microsoft OS and internet security.
xdarkmagician
I have no problem with hackers, even if its used in a destructive manor. I believe hacking is an extension of life, a quest to unlock the answers as such, and the roots of alot of advances in more than just electronic technology… Hacking IMO is art, and art needs to be uncensored in every form, even if some people don’t appreciate it. It’s just that Sony will undoubtedly find support from the digital industry and a win for Sony is a win for every corporation that follows. Actions as such do indeed do as you suggest, they keep the topic in the headlines and force discussion and responses, but once actions like these become branded as criminal, or god forbid “terroristic”, all credibility is lost to the label and any chance of a court victory is usually lost. I’d rather win the war instead of a single battle.
quinkill
@xdarkmagician
Interesting point. I agree to an extent. I think some hacking is sort of an art form in that it’s an outlet of expression but not all of it is good. Just like art really. some is subjective but other times it’s just downright theft when pirating is involved.
E8_BALL_
cc “tickbox saying you’ve read & agree may not be defensible in law as it doesn’t actually prove you’ve read the T&C & implicitly agreed to them.”
read or not, he ticked the box to confirm he agreed to the terms.
proof is, he ticked the box signifying the agreement. if he didnt read & ticked, he has no legal defence on that issue.
(the sad people who used mods on mw2, because of this guy & made me have to wait 2months for a patch, will probably be the same people, who because of their actions, have disrupted our access the ps store, not the way to go about it,
again its decent, law abiding &or fair gamers who are suffering) **** Anonymous
tantalus_blank
as far as I know it’s still not entirely proved that Hotz has a PSN account – it was traced to his neighbour or something. I can’t say with certainty though as I can’t be bothered to go look for my source again
The Lone Steven
What a load of selfish t***s. What does it achieve? a lot of P*ssed off gamers and makes them seem like aholes. They have annoyed more gamers then Sony which was there target. I fecking hate Anon now, i am going to have a very angry cup of tea and moan and do nothing about it. Anon, the biggest collection of d*cks on the web. This was to “help” Geohot, i think it has made it worse for him due to them using his hack. At least the RDR meet was unaffected.:D
The Mysterious Phantom Bear
I can see both sides of this. As a consumer, if I purchase a product, I should own it to do whatever I like. If I want to jailbreak, mod, use my console as a doorstop then that should be my right as a consumer.
However, when that modification effects other users of a SERVICE provided by the manufacturer, that’s where I draw the line. If these little attention seekers want to stick it to the man, do it by doing something actually productive instead of disrupting the hobby of millions of paying consumers.
Seriously, didn’t George Hotz and Co’s Mothers hug them enough as children. Much of this is blatant attention seeking under the premise of standing up to a corporation.
If you don’t agree to the Sony T&C’s use your considerable talents to set up your own community or buy an alternative product. I don’t find them particularly draconian so please, just leave me to play a few games for a couple of hours when I get in from work. You can carry on pissing about with your screwdrivers geeking out because you got a PS3 to run PONG but please, leave me the hell out of it.
Oh. Also, get a girlfriend.
blackredyellow
I don’t know where to start with my response. Maybe I’m just ignorant or stupid, but what is the PS3 ultimately for? Gaming, no? I know this argument goes far deeper than I can be arsed to get involved with, but in all honesty I think that is the case for a vast majority of PS3, and PSN, users. We just want to play games on our console, which we’ve paid a fair amount of money for.
By disrupting the servers, and hacking various websites these individuals seem to be shooting themselves directly in the foot. Sure they achieve media attention, but in a negative manner.
Maybe I’m wrong, but for the majority of users all this has been a massive ball ache and can only cause irritation and frustration aimed squarely at the hackers.
BrainDiver
“a massive ball ache” an admirably succinct and accurate summary of this whole affair. Well done sir.
3shirts
The fact is that for some causes, negative media attention is the only way they can get any attention at all.
You only have to read through the comments here to see there is a balance of opinion on both sides. Clearly this DDoS has brought the cause to wider attention but it hasn’t automatically vilified them
blackredyellow
Very true. However, I would think those who fall on the ‘Anonymous’ side of the fence are likely to have already been followers of their work (if you can call it that). This latest prank can’t have won many additions to their fanbase.
Boomshanks
Ooh internet you provide such wonderful anonimity. Basically I wouldn’t compare Anonymous to a group of people preventing you from entering a shop. What these people do(a DDOS attack) is illegal and they can do it without having to show their faces. I’m under the impression that if Anonymous would have to do something in public they would run and hide and the support for Geohot would fall instantly.
Also I just can’t stand Geohot. Has anyone seen his blog. To me he comes across as a cocky little kid who doesn’t know when to quit and laughs at everything bad happening to the people opposing him whilst behind the safety of his computer.
tantalus_blank
Agreed – I haven’t read the blog but his rap video put me off the guy enough
Foxhound_Solid
SET OF CUNTS! SONY KILL THEM STONE DEAD!
3shirts
Get off the fence and tell us what you really think
zakwhorules
Was it Xbox Fanboys?
tantalus_blank
It was totally Microsoft paying Hotz in a fiendish plan to destroy Sony! You can either believe that…or use common sense
bravotangosix
For my tupence worth. Do you want ‘half of something’ or ‘all of nothing’ because if Sony decide to shut up shop as far as the console industry is concerned then that’s what we’ll all get. All Of Nothing!
bravotangosix
Another point. The Japanesse economy really need every bit of help they can get and every Dollar/Pound/Yen to recover but all these petty morans can think about is ‘Poor george’. These people need to get a grip on the real world. http://freevideocoding.com/flvplayer.swf?file=http%3A%2F%2Fflash.vx.roo.com%2FstreamingVX%2F63056%2F1458%2F20110311_japan_wave_successions_sky_1000k.mp4&autostart=true