Friday May 25, 2012 4:33 AM AEST

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PC Games

Sony Online Entertainment suspended, possibly hacked too

Bad news for PC gamers, as Sony suspends the Station.com and admits the PC side of its operation may have been compromised too.

As Sony prepares to resume services on its compromised PlayStation Network, it appears another part of the company's gaming operations may have been compromised. As of now, all Sony Online Entertainment titles have been suspended and turned off.

Sony made the announcement on the 2nd of May US time, based on information it had gather within the last 24 hours. It's still unsure of the nature or breadth of any breach, but it obviously is now taking a better safe than sorry approach following the mammoth backlash to its now infamous PlayStation hack.

We had previously believed that SOE customer data had not been obtained in the cyber-attacks on the company, but on May 1st we concluded that SOE account information may have been stolen and we are notifying you as soon as possible.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the attack and as a result, we have:

1) Temporarily turned off all SOE game services;

2) Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and

3) Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure to provide you with greater protection of your personal information.

That info comes from the only page currently available on SOE.com.

The suspension is affecting games from Everquest 2 to the more recent DC Universe Online. Sony is recommending any users of the SOE service to be aware of any phone, email or telemarketing scams.

We're planning on cancelling every Sony account we have here at Atomic. What are you guys doing?

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19 Comments

Ekythump May 3, 2011 9:20 AM	If the site's down? how do you cancel anything?
orcone May 3, 2011 9:34 AM	With your fists.
codecreeper May 3, 2011 9:58 AM	Looks like i was right about the PC side too.
alexdtree May 3, 2011 10:49 AM	@ekythump, just cancel your cards that are associated with your account ide say. lol sony makes me glad i have so few sony products and glad that i never put my card into the PSN network
codecreeper May 3, 2011 12:53 PM	I just hope all the MMO games companies learn a lesson from this. Because i will no longer put CC details in any computer system just to play there games. MMO activation on CC details need to be changed.
Periander May 3, 2011 12:56 PM	Poor Sony. I'm guessing it could've happened to anyone though. Good time to be a security consultant!
Rage09 May 3, 2011 1:40 PM	@codecreeper: I agree, with the prevalence of game cards and being able to pay subscriptions via paypal aswell there is no reason a company needs cc info just to activate a game.
codecreeper May 3, 2011 2:55 PM	If someone buys a game and it includes a registration code that should be enough to get that 30days included play time and establish an account. Another way would be to include as mentioned a game time card for 30days. Since Blizzard put login details as your email address the WoW community has been hit hard with hacking and unwarranted access to their accounts. Now that this has happened with CC details exposed i just wonder what type of fallout will occur in the general with the Software Industry and Security of clients data.
sUpEr gEEk May 3, 2011 8:55 PM	Great more spam properly from the same person
G@ST May 3, 2011 9:12 PM	I see why Julian Assange decided to go with PC instead of Console
codecreeper May 4, 2011 9:14 AM	does this magazine operate from India? So much spam from India its annoying.
MissEwa May 4, 2011 9:20 AM	Hey, maybe they'll settle down after Mother's Day. We can only hope...
Gharphield May 4, 2011 9:57 AM	Super Geek: Huh? You make no sense Sir. On topic: Wow ... poor Sony huh. I bet they'll be after blood for the person(s) that did this!
Hawkeye May 4, 2011 10:02 AM	Guys, it'll make our life a lot easier if folks could refrain from commenting on the spam. It hurts our search rankings to have the word show up so much in comments, and while I removing the offending comments is one thing, I'd hate to have to remove every reference to it as well. That's just annoying :)
sUpEr gEEk May 4, 2011 12:16 PM	Sorry Hawkeye thanks for the tip as haven't learned about that in webdesign yet :)
Gharphield May 4, 2011 1:42 PM	^^^ totally not a jerk
deonast May 4, 2011 8:26 PM	maybe an automated system of replacing the "S" word with "Spiced Ham". Then again maybe not.
Splatterchops May 6, 2011 4:43 PM	I imagine the game cards are like the ones for iTunes. They want your credit card no to activate the iTunes card. making the "game card" useless and them totally responsible for the use/misuse of your details. I hope they get prosecuted to send a message. Look after peoples id or die!
alexlow8 May 8, 2011 11:59 AM	I have had a PSN account with CC details attached to it since the launch of the PS3. I have to admit to being a bit of a PlayStation fanboy. I have been watching my CC account closely, as I always do since this started, and haven't seen any unknown transactios show up on my statement. Don't you think it is strange that all this happened just days after the hacker group "Anonamous" promised retribution on Sony's networks in response to the law suit against Geo Hot for the Jail Break hack? I don' think this is about accessing individual used information at all, merely an attaemp to bring down the network. Objective Achieved.

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Atomic Magazine

Issue: 137 | June, 2012

Atomic is a magazine aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts, gamers, and serious PC upgraders.

Every month we bring you the latest reviews of new technology and PC components, in depth features on everything from overclocking to console hacking, and gaming previews and interviews.

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