Sony has confirmed that its popular gaming hub, the PlayStation Network, has been brought down by a hacking attack. According to the organisation, the Network has been taken offline voluntarily while an “external intrusion” is being investigated. This means that users are still unable to connect or play with other users until it is put back online. Those trying to connect by all means have been faced with error messages stating that the network is either “currently undergoing maintenance” or has been “suspended”.
This development is a big blow to Sony whose PlayStation Network is also used by users of PS3 and PSP to download films, games and music. With over 60 million registered users worldwide, it is not known how long users can be patient until the problem is fixed although Sony might be forgiven if the time taken to get the system back online is actually used to develop a more secured gaming network.
The outage is the latest in a host of problems faced by the PlayStation Network recently, with many users complaining of having experienced extended periods of downtime in the last few weeks. So far, it appears that Microsoft Xbox has not been affected. With around 30 million users, both Xbox and PlayStation offer free and paid online gaming services for users.
Talking Point
Are you worried by the PlayStation Network downtime?
10 Comments
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arthurmasons999
April 25, 2011 at 9:22 pm
Hi,
that was real quick, I wonder however, what was the purpose of the hacking attack. By the way, its been 2 full days now and sony clearly state that it would be back on by now!
Regards Arthur
Ava
April 25, 2011 at 10:06 pm
This just goes to show that you can never be too safe when it comes to the internet. Did they report where the attack came from? It almost reminds me how the Chinese hacked into the Pentagon’s files a few years ago.
Travis
April 25, 2011 at 11:46 pm
I feel like if anyone really wanted to hack and screw something up they could especially if there is a “team” of geeks ready to attack something for what they feel was a wrong doing ie GeoHotz
Kinda like your house…you can make it as secure as you want, but if someone really really wants to get in, they probably will.
Opsikom
April 26, 2011 at 3:00 am
It seems the hackers a bit difficult to be eradicated for some reason. nice info
Karoline
April 26, 2011 at 3:04 am
I wonder what the hacking’s for. There’s always a bunch of geeks ready to hack somewhere, one way or another.
Nick
April 26, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Thing is.. i couldnt ever imagine this happening to Xbox Live.
The online experience for PS3 just really isn’t up to scratch – it shouldn’t be possible for people to hack their whole system.
Either way, I dont mind considering i’m an xbox guy. 😉
Admin
April 29, 2011 at 12:23 pm
I wouldn’t bet on it. Don’t forget that as technology gets more sophisticated, so do hackers.
Livecas
April 30, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Do not forget the human factor. What ever the technology is Julian Assange would be just round the corner with all necessary tools to take an advantage. Basically I think that internet would completely change our behaviour in terms of the security and privacy.
Regards. Livecas
greenlants
May 8, 2011 at 8:27 am
Hi techsling,
You posted this 2 weeks ago and PSN is STILL down as of writing this comment…I wonder how many Playstation users have jumped ship and switched to Xbox Live already lol. 🙂 Just goes to show you that NO company is secure, things can still happen. It will just be interesting to see if/how Sony will end up paying for this somehow, whether through actual financial compensation, or free service down the line, etc….
greenlants
psv
April 6, 2012 at 3:58 am
Xbox also problems right now :/