Big Time Hackings: What you ought to know

According to a report made on April 3rd of this year, over 100 major companies have experienced a data breach. This breach occurred through an attack on a marketing group which subsequently had access to all the other major companies which experienced this breach. An updated list of these companies has been released on Databreaches.net. The list is too long for me to post but you can find it here.

However, this recent hacking spree doesn't stop there.

I'm sure anyone with an internet connection has read about what's happened with Sony's PSN (Playstation Network) and what was potentially at risk. In case you haven't heard, the overall 'jist' of it is that Sony's online netword was invaded by an outside intruder. In the midst of his intrusion, Sony shut off PSN and Qriocity Service to investigate.

During the investigation, it was concluded that the personal information of those who use PSN was compromised though there is no evidence that anything major has happened following this such as subsequent identify thefts etc. Sony has since made major steps to boost its security ten fold in order to protect all the information thats still there.

According to this statement made by Playstation about their Network Breach, you are urged to check your credit to be sure nothing no action has been taken with your personal information. They have also been kind enough to list three major credit bureaus which you can use.

HOWEVER, this hacker, or group of hackers, which is now being publicly called Anon or Anonymous, has an alleged press release on youtube explaining the attack made and why they made it. Included in this video is also a list of demands which once read, seem to be quite reasonable granted everything they say about Sony's actions are legitimate.

Anonymous's statement. (click to enlarge)

For anyone who is not familiar, Anon is an incredibly intelligent, international group of geniuses by any standard. They typically seek justice through their actions. One may be able to remember the attacks they made on Aaron Barr. Barr was the CEO of HBGary Federal, a technology security company. His company was known for assistance in stopping alleged security risks such as WikiLeaks.
Well, Aaron Barr released a statement saying he had personal information on a few suspected members of Anonymous by monitoring their facebooks, emails, IRC chats, etc. This caused ,what one could call, a preemptive strike, where Anon hacked HBGary's website along with Barr's twitter account releasing the links to Barr's personal emails and hacked website. So, easy to say, their track record is stellar.


I urge you to check this out. This details Anonymous' reasons for their attack and what they demand of Sony and Playstation.


Credit to:
Databreach.net's article: And the hits just keep on coming for Epsilon
Playstation's article: Playstation Network Service Outage
Forbes' Blog's article: Anonymous Takes Revenge on Security Firm For Trying to Sell Supporters' Details to FBI