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Sony Blames Anonymous for Hack Attack

Group denies 'incompetent' company's allegations

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted May 5, 2011 2:03 AM CDT

(Newser) – The activist hacker organization Anonymous is at least partly to blame for the huge Playstation Network security breach that exposed the data of millions of customers, according to Sony. Company officials told US lawmakers that they discovered a file on one of its servers with the hacking collective's name and its "We Are Legion" tagline, reports the Los Angeles Times. Sony believes its network was breached while it defended itself from a denial-of-service attack from Anonymous, which was protesting a lawsuit brought against a Playstation hacker.

"Whether those who participated in the denial-of-service attacks were conspirators or whether they were simply duped into providing cover for a very clever thief, we may never know," Sony wrote in a letter to House lawmakers. Anonymous released a statement denying the allegations. "Sony is incompetent," the group said. "While it could be the case that other Anons have acted by themselves, AnonOps was not related to this incident and takes no responsibility."

A customer watches a monitor of Sony's videogame PlayStation 3 at a Tokyo electric shop.
A customer watches a monitor of Sony's videogame PlayStation 3 at a Tokyo electric shop.   (Getty Images)
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Sony has been the victim of a very carefully planned, very professional, highly sophisticated criminal cyber attack designed to steal personal and credit card information for illegal purposes. - Letter from Sony to House lawmakers

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 6 comments
YetAnotherCollegeKid
May 6, 2011 4:49 PM CDT
Generally, I trust Anon to take responsibility for their own shit; they don't really do chagrin. If this was an AnonOps hit, they would have said as much. Like that rep said, though, an independent operator of Anon could have done it without clearing it with the rest of the community.
carbonatedturtle
May 6, 2011 11:23 AM CDT
Suck it, Sony! Enjoy bankruptcy.
turdferguson1
May 5, 2011 8:59 AM CDT
just gimme back my playstation network im going through call of duty withdrawals.
 

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