Reports claim that the personal information compromised by the PSN breach are up for sale by hackers.
The speculation originates with TrendMicro security expert Kevin Stevens, who has been tracking conversations on hacker forums regarding the PSN breach. Stevens tweeted earlier today that the PSN hackers had obtained the PSN database of 2.2 million users' personal information.
This included users' first name, last name, address, zip code, country, phone, email address, email password and date of birth as well as credit card number, CCV security code and expiration date.
These reports gained traction when independent security blogger Brian Krebs posted screenshots of what appeared to be four hackers discussing the database.
Allegedly, the hackers are attempting to sell the database for upwards of $100,000. One forum member even suggested to Stevens that the hackers had approached Sony to buy back the database, but did not receive a response.
Speaking with The New York Times, Sony senior director of corporate communications Patrick Seybold said: "To my knowledge there is no truth to the report that Sony was offered an opportunity to purchase the list.
"The entire credit card table was encrypted and we have no evidence that credit card data was taken."
It is possible that the hackers are making false claims about the database of 2.2 million users. The most questionable details are that of the stolen email passwords and CCV security codes, neither of which are collected or stored by Sony.
Though users are required to input their CCV code when signing up for a PSN account, Sony has stated on the PlayStation Blog that CCV codes are not stored anywhere in its database. Even if the hackers did obtain the PSN database information and decrypt the credit card details, CCV codes would not be there.
Whether the hackers are boasting, embellishing or simply lying about the database of 2.2 million users has yet to be determined.
It is advised that users with PSN accounts refer to Sony's FAQ to help protect themselves in light of the PSN breach.
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The speculation originates with TrendMicro security expert Kevin Stevens, who has been tracking conversations on hacker forums regarding the PSN breach. Stevens tweeted earlier today that the PSN hackers had obtained the PSN database of 2.2 million users' personal information.
This included users' first name, last name, address, zip code, country, phone, email address, email password and date of birth as well as credit card number, CCV security code and expiration date.
These reports gained traction when independent security blogger Brian Krebs posted screenshots of what appeared to be four hackers discussing the database.
Allegedly, the hackers are attempting to sell the database for upwards of $100,000. One forum member even suggested to Stevens that the hackers had approached Sony to buy back the database, but did not receive a response.
Speaking with The New York Times, Sony senior director of corporate communications Patrick Seybold said: "To my knowledge there is no truth to the report that Sony was offered an opportunity to purchase the list.
"The entire credit card table was encrypted and we have no evidence that credit card data was taken."
It is possible that the hackers are making false claims about the database of 2.2 million users. The most questionable details are that of the stolen email passwords and CCV security codes, neither of which are collected or stored by Sony.
Though users are required to input their CCV code when signing up for a PSN account, Sony has stated on the PlayStation Blog that CCV codes are not stored anywhere in its database. Even if the hackers did obtain the PSN database information and decrypt the credit card details, CCV codes would not be there.
Whether the hackers are boasting, embellishing or simply lying about the database of 2.2 million users has yet to be determined.
It is advised that users with PSN accounts refer to Sony's FAQ to help protect themselves in light of the PSN breach.
Sent using tapatalk.
