In a recent interview with UK paper the Guardian, Hirai said that the recent PlayStation Network security breach is a global crisis that "isn’t something that is a Microsoft issue or a Sony issue or limited to one or two companies," but "actually a lot bigger than that." Noting the recent hack attempts against the FBI and Nintendo, Hirai feels that the problem is "large enough to the extent that we're talking about any and all companies, organizations and entities that deal in the online space."
"It's a threat, not just to Sony or a couple of other companies, but to the very fabric of society," he said. "Therefore it requires individuals and companies to be very vigilant, which goes without saying, and we need help from various government, various enforcement agencies and legislation in certain instances as well. And this needs to be a worldwide effort."
Hirai also took issue with claims that Sony waited too long to inform consumers of the PSN security breach:
"You can't just go out there and drop a statement like that without being able to answer some fundamental questions... So I don't think we 'waited' a week. I think it took a week to make sure that we had, at least what we thought was enough information that was credible at the time before we made any announcements."
Hirai went on to say that hacking activities like the one his company endured threaten the very fabric of our society. He also said that Sony has not identified the person or persons that breached PlayStation Network. The company continues to work closely with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies around the world.
Source: GameIndustry.biz
Comments
Re: Kaz Hirai: Hacking a Threat to the Very Fabric of ...
Historically, hacking has brought us most of the tech innovations we use today. I'm going to have to call yet another BS statement from a Sony exec.
Cracking is another matter. Anyone who cracks a system and steals user's credit cards makes life miserable for the rest of us.
Re: Kaz Hirai: Hacking a Threat to the Very Fabric of ...
Depends on who the target is, hacking can be a balancing mechisim as much or even more so that a tool for crime.
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Copyright infringement is nothing more than civil disobedience to a bad set of laws. Let's renegotiate them.
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Re: Kaz Hirai: Hacking a Threat to the Very Fabric of ...
"Therefore it requires individuals and companies to be very vigilant, which goes without saying, and we need help from various government, various enforcement agencies and legislation in certain instances as well."
Anyone notice that the help being sought doesn't even have anything to do with actual security?
What can government, third-party agencies and law do to protect you when you don't even know how to secure your own network?
Re: Kaz Hirai: Hacking a Threat to the Very Fabric of ...
While I don't see it as huge as he's saying ,I do agree that it isn't a Microsoft or a Sony issue. The gloating fanboys are missing the biggure picture.
Re: Kaz Hirai: Hacking a Threat to the Very Fabric of ...
Well, at this point it IS a Microsoft or Sony issue -- because Sony's proven woefully incompetent at securing its network and MS hasn't (lately). Now, if Xbox Live gets breached tomorrow, then that's another story, but for the time being the evidence suggests it's more secure than PSN.
And really, when MICROSOFT is making you look bad at security, you have a serious problem.
Re: Kaz Hirai: Hacking a Threat to the Very Fabric of ...
Hirai talking about what is good for society? this is the same guy that said people will work extra hours in order to afford the (then) overpriced PS3. He's just a Suit making Suit-type comments that are ignorant and self-serving, nothing new.
Hacking is too general a term for him to say it is bad for society. look at booze. if abused, yes bad for society but in moderation, it is quite beneficial. hacking is the same thing, look at Lulzsec who hacked Nintendo non-maliciously and then told them how to fix it. like that old hacking movie Sneakers, there are good hackers and bad hackers - intention and context matter! Sony hates them all I guess, even the Robert Redford ones.
Re: Kaz Hirai: Hacking a Threat to the Very Fabric of ...
Such a blanket statement begs for a revision to something more specific. Certain types of hacking most certainly could disrupt the internet and the lives of the people & institutions of which it is an integral part. Imagine a world where your personal information was absolutely unsafe (I am not arguing that it ever was totally safe now) or where web content could never be trusted as being untouched by the hands of hackers. It would be like the entire internet was the PSN.
This goes far beyond the simple types of hacking that enables free videogames or jailbroken electronic devices.
Of course, the hacker defenders will come out and continue to try and equate Hackers with Robin Hood. It is still unfortunate how so many of these people seem unable or unwilling to accept that there really are hackers with less-than-altruistic motives.
Re: Kaz Hirai: Hacking a Threat to the Very Fabric of ...
It is still unfortunate how so many of these people seem unable or unwilling to accept that there really are hackers with less-than-altruistic motives.
I don't know of anyone saying the people breaking into networks and stealing consumers' information are altruists. There is, however, a vocal group of people who don't accept the current standard usage of "hacker" to mean someone who deliberately breaks into networks to cause harm. That definition is a far cry from the original use of the term but has been pushed to the front by the media over the past couple of decades (and I really do wish GP wouldn't participate, but here we are with another headline treating "hacking" as if it's a synonym for illicit behavior).
It's more an issue of nomenclature than anything. There are plenty of folks who would happily refer to themselves as hackers but who are ethical and who do not condone computer attacks. They resent the current use of the term "hacker" and their argument isn't that there are no bad people out there -- it's that those people aren't hackers, they're crackers.
Re: Kaz Hirai: Hacking a Threat to the Very Fabric of ...
Heh, anyone who says that bringing down PSN was an altruistic move is deluding themselves.
Since no useful information was taken, l;iterally all it did was piss off several million people.