http://anbservers.net/index.html/_/technologynews/ Mon, 21 May 2012 21:07:08 +0000 86400 News about Technology and the politics surrounding them. http://anbservers.net/index.html/_/technologynews/sony-%e2%80%98full-psn-services%e2%80%99-return-this-week-inc-r13 zdnet.com

Sony on Tuesday announced that it will fully restore all PlayStation Network services in the US, Europe and parts of Asia by the end of the week. The “Music Unlimited” streaming service from Qriocity will also resume for PS3, PSP and PC users.

Full service for Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea is still up in the air; Sony said that details for those areas will be announced as they become available. Some services came back online in Japan this past weekend.

Multiplayer gaming for PSN has already been restored, but other services including access to the PlayStation Store have been offline, ever since Sony brought PSN back online following a hacker attack in April. The first phase of the network reboot began on May 15, 2011.

Sony claims to have “implemented considerable security enhancements to the network infrastructure, as well as conducted testing of the payment process and commerce functions.”

In April a hacker or hackers overcame Sony’s security to gain access to more than 100 million user accounts and the personal information therein. No one has claimed responsibility for the break-in, though in a letter delivered to a U.S. Congressional subcommittee, Sony Computer Entertainment president Kazuo Hirai implicated “Anonymous.”

“Anonymous” is a loose hacker collective which sought retribution against Sony earlier this year for court proceedings against George “Geohot” Hotz, a programmer who had sought to restore the PlayStation 3’s ability to install a Linux operating system variant. But according to the information offered at the time, Anonymous’ coordinators sought to disrupt Sony services through a denial of service attack, rather than an attempt to steal PSN user data.

In addition to PlayStation Store access, full service means users will be able to use in-game commerce; vouchers and codes should work; and the “Media Go” video and audio player should work again.

It behooves Sony to get the PlayStation Store and other PSN-related services online before the weekend is up. Next week marks one of the biggest events in video gaming: E3 Expo in Los Angeles, an annual game industry trade show where Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and other big players gather to show off their latest hardware, forthcoming games and more. Sony is expected to use E3 to officially unveil the NGP, its next generation PlayStation Portable handheld console, when it holds a press conference on Monday, June 6.

After the PlayStation Store is back online, PSN users eligible to download free games and service as part of Sony’s “Welcome Back” package should be able to do so.

There was a glimmer of hope that the PlayStation Store would be back online earlier this month after a confidential Sony memo leaked which suggested a May 24th date; Sony later discounted that communication, indicating the date was still in flux.]]> Tue, 31 May 2011 12:42:26 +0000 73278a4a86960eeb576a8fd4c9ec6997 http://anbservers.net/index.html/_/technologynews/pbs-falls-victim-to-hackers-with-false-tupac-sh-r12

Original Article Taken from guardian.co.uk

Hackers the Lulz Boat said they were 'less than impressed' by PBS's documentary on WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange, pictured. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

Computer hackers on Monday broke into the website of the US public service broadcaster PBS and published a fake article claiming rapper Tupac Shakur was alive and living in New Zealand.

A group named the Lulz Boat claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming it was retribution following the network's recent documentary on Julian Assange and the whistleblowers' site WikiLeaks.

PBS on Tuesday said three of its websites – NewsHour, Frontline and PBS – "remain under attack by hackers" and that it was attempting to restore normal service.

The article about Tupac, who was murdered in Las Vegas in 1996, was removed from the broadcaster's website – but login information for two internal PBS sites was stolen and published online.

David Fanning, the executive producer of the PBS Frontline programme, described the attack as "irresponsible and chilling".

He added: "From our point of view, we just see it as a disappointing and irresponsible act, especially since we have been very open to publishing criticism of the film … and the film included other points of view."

The PBS WikiLeaks documentary, called WikiSecrets, attracted criticism after it first aired last week from those sympathetic to the site's founder, Julian Assange.

The pro-WikiLeaks group of hackers have previously claimed responsibility for attacks on Fox, Sony and the US X Factor website. A message – which has now been removed by PBS – posted by the group on the broadcaster's website during the hack attack read: "Greetings, Internets. We just finished watching WikiSecrets and were less than impressed.

"We decided to sail our Lulz Boat over to the PBS servers for further … perusing. As you should know by now, not even that fancy-ass fortress from the third … Pirates of the Caribbean movie (first one was better!) can withhold our barrage of chaos and lulz.

"Anyway, unnecessary sequels aside … wait, actually: second and third Matrix movies sucked too! Anyway, say hello to the insides of the PBS servers, folks. They best watch where they're sailing next time."

The group also managed to create a new page on the PBS website, called "lulz", where it wrote "Free Bradley Manning fuck Frontline".]]> Tue, 31 May 2011 12:33:10 +0000 7f6ffaa6bb0b408017b62254211691b5