Do You Own A Sony HackStation?

You’ve probably already noticed that your Sony PlayStation won’t connect to the online network, but do you know that hackers probably stole all your personal data, including your credit card number, too?

User data stolen in Sony PlayStation Network hack attack

Sony is warning its millions of PlayStation Network users to watch out for identity-theft scams after hackers breached its security and plundered the user names, passwords, addresses, birth dates, and other information used to register accounts.

The stolen information may also include payment-card data, purchase history, billing addresses, and security answers used to change passwords, Sony said on Tuesday. The company plans to keep the hacked system offline for the time being, and to restore services gradually. The advisory also applies to users of Sony’s related Qriocity network.

See also:
Sony Warns Online Hacker May Have Stolen Credit Card Data
Sony’s PlayStation Network and Qriocity hacked
77million PlayStation accounts hacked
Breach at Sony may include profiles
Massive data breach suspected in Sony PlayStation hacker attack
Sony: Card details may be compromised
Millions of PlayStation user’s information hacked
PlayStation Network hacked, data stolen: how badly is Sony hurt?
Sony’s PlayStation Network Hacked, User Data Stolen
Sony Explains Delayed Response to Hacked PSN Accounts
Sony’s PlayStation Network Is Hacked

With 77 million potential victims, this could wind up being the largest data theft in history. If you own a PlaySyation, make sure you keep an eye on your credit card account for any unusual activity and change your passwords and probably as much other PlayStation Network account information as you can as soon as the system goes back online.

/and watch out for phishing attacks, if Sony contacts you, make damn sure it’s actually Sony

Phishing Season Is Open

Some hacker(s) hit the jackpot, the mother lode of data breaches. If the Chinese or the Russian Mafia aren’t responsible for this, they must be jealous.

As scope of e-mail hack grows, should you be worried?

The world’s largest “permissions-based” e-mail marketing company, Epsilon, reported late last week that someone hacked into its computer system and stole an unknown number of e-mail addresses and names.

The scope of this breach is potentially huge and has continued to grow over the weekend, with companies like TiVo, JPMorgan Chase and Capital One coming forward to say their customers have been affected. Epsilon reports sending 40 billion e-mails per year on behalf of its 2,500 clients. Reuters calls this potentially “one of the biggest such breaches in U.S. history.”

. . .

What security experts do worry about, however, is a malicious form of spam called “targeted phishing” or “spear phishing.” These terms refer to fake e-mails that try to look real because the scammer knows something about you.

Say you had signed up to receive marketing e-mails from Kroger, which is a major U.S. grocery store chain. If your e-mail address and name were stolen as part of the recent security breach, a scammer, knowing you sometimes get e-mails from Kroger and probably wouldn’t be suspicious of them, could design a fake e-mail that looks like it came from Kroger. Such an e-mail might ask you for sensitive information, like a Social Security number or bank account number.

If you divulged that kind of personal data, you could become a victim of identity theft.

See also:
Data breach at Irving-based Epsilon exposes email addresses of major firms’ customers
Epsilon security breach exposes thousands of email addresses
Major Email Security Breach Threatens Millions
Banks, credit-card issuers warn of email breach
You Might Be Impacted by Epsilon Breach
FAQ: Epsilon email breach
Citi, JPMorgan, Best Buy Customers Hit In Massive Email Breach
Don’t Minimize the Epsilon Episode
Secret Service investigates Epsilon data breach
The Epsilon Breach: How Worried–and Angry–Should You Be?
The Epsilon Breach: What Should You Do?
Poll: Have you received an email warning about the Epsilon hack?

Needless to say, if you receive any e-mail regarding this incident, make sure it’s legitimate because there’s a good chance it isn’t. And remember, none of the companies involved will ask you for sensitive information in an e-mail.

/it you’re not sure, contact the company directly through their website