MSE News: PlayStation users' data stolen in hack: what should you do?

TimothyEBaldwin

Why are Sony storing passwords? Standard practice is to store a one-way hash of the password.

And the payment card industry needs to get better at security, accepting information known to many retailers (eg. credit card numbers) as evidence that arbitrary transactions are authorised is obviously risky. They are already using alternative means such as chip&pin and 3D secure for many transactions.

Alfmuttley

My Amex card is the one Sony have. I called Amex to ask their advice and couldn't believe my ears. The guy on the phone said something like 'We are offering a free 30 day benefit because of the theft. Even if you cancell your card it is not 100% safe because they old number could be used on a subscription basis so we recommend you take this benefit......you get a free credit check so you can see if there has been any unauthorised activity.....after 30 days it will be £6 a month but you can cancel at any time'.

I couldn't believe their cheek. Luckily I'm switched on enough to know a lot of what he said was rubbish but I bet they have sold a load of these so called 'benefits' on the back of the fear this hack has caused!

hayton2k3

Alfmuttley wrote: »

My Amex card is the one Sony have. I called Amex to ask their advice and couldn't believe my ears. The guy on the phone said something like 'We are offering a free 30 day benefit because of the theft. Even if you cancell your card it is not 100% safe because they old number could be used on a subscription basis so we recommend you take this benefit......you get a free credit check so you can see if there has been any unauthorised activity.....after 30 days it will be £6 a month but you can cancel at any time'.

I couldn't believe their cheek. Luckily I'm switched on enough to know a lot of what he said was rubbish but I bet they have sold a load of these so called 'benefits' on the back of the fear this hack has caused!

So what will you do if they took out a subscription service with your card? Many of times it has happened and people have had new cards and the money is still taken just like the guy stated to you. Also 30 days free and then you can cancel.

daggy

hayton2k3 wrote: »

So what will you do if they took out a subscription service with your card? Many of times it has happened and people have had new cards and the money is still taken just like the guy stated to you. Also 30 days free and then you can cancel.

I think it was more the fact that he rang up worried about something and the agent tried to 'sell' him something based on that fear.

Aside from that fact, I'd assume you're protected against that sort of fraud anyway.

RazWaz

It's been said there is a very small chance anyone did get credit card details. They have had experts in looking at everything and have found no evidence of it happening.

Q: Was my personal data encrypted?
A: All of the data was protected, and access was restricted both physically and through the perimeter and security of the network. The entire credit card table was encrypted and we have no evidence that credit card data was taken. The personal data table, which is a separate data set, was not encrypted, but was, of course, behind a very sophisticated security system that was breached in a malicious attack.
Q: Was my credit card data taken?
A: While all credit card information stored in our systems is encrypted and there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code, sometimes called a CVC or CSC number) and expiration date may have been obtained.

(taken from http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/04/28/playstation-network-and-qriocity-outage-faq/)

Theblueone

RasWaz, so glad you are willing to take the word of a company that for seven days appeared to cover up the fact that anything had been taken at all!!!!

It certainly has put my mind at rest -NOT!!!!!

I cancelled the card the day I heard about it;)

RazWaz

Theblueone wrote: »

RasWaz, so glad you are willing to take the word of a company that for seven days appeared to cover up the fact that anything had been taken at all!!!!

It certainly has put my mind at rest -NOT!!!!!

I cancelled the card the day I heard about it;)

I don't believe they were covering anything up at all. They called in specialists to investigate what happened and probably had no idea anything could have been taken until they got the report. And given that most consoles are hacked within hours of release, the ps3 taking around 3 years to be broken shows Sony have pretty good security set ups.

Or would you rather have everyone cancel their credit cards, causing inconvenience to millions of people and costing compwnys a ton of money on the off chance something might happen when there is no evidence to back it up.

mysuni

Theblueone wrote: »

Have you changed your email address? We haven't had an email either but that because we have changed email address

No we haven't.

Theblueone

mysuni wrote: »

No we haven't.

Not sure then on this one. Maybe someone else may be able to assist on your query:o

Theblueone

RazWaz wrote: »

I don't believe they were covering anything up at all. They called in specialists to investigate what happened and probably had no idea anything could have been taken until they got the report. And given that most consoles are hacked within hours of release, the ps3 taking around 3 years to be broken shows Sony have pretty good security set ups.

Or would you rather have everyone cancel their credit cards, causing inconvenience to millions of people and costing compwnys a ton of money on the off chance something might happen when there is no evidence to back it up.

Well whatever, all I know is that Sony will look after themselves and their money before they give the customer any thought whatsoever. So I will look after me and mine first so if that means a few days inconvenience without a bank card then so be it.