Hackers Compromise So-net Entertainment, A Subsidiary Of Sony Corp

So-net Entertainment Corp., a Japan-based internet service provider and a subsidiary of Sony Corp., said a hacker accessed its customer rewards site on May 16 and 17 and stole redeemable gift points worth about $1,225 from 128 of the internet provider's users.

A hacker attempted 10,000 times to access the provider's "So-net" point service, which awards customers reward points that can be exchanged for Sony products and online currency, from similar IP address, So-net said. They added that it believes the gatecrasher had usernames of account holders and after that might have utilized an automatic software program to produce passwords until it discover the correct one.

So-net, which is around 58% possessed by Sony and a Sony financial unit, stated that the points from 128 customer accounts were redeemed without authorization. An additional 73 accounts were accessed, although the points were not possessed. And 90 email accounts on the So-net network were compromised.

There is no proof that some individual information like names, addresses, birth dates or phone numbers were accessed. Sony became aware of the violation on May 18 after getting complaints from customers, the company said. The company found out that the interruptions occurred on May 16 and 17. Following the attack, So-net has alerted its customers and asked them to change their passwords on their accounts. The company has also stopped point exchanges across its network, for the time being.

The breach at So-net comes several days after Sony resumed service on its PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment online videogame services after a data breach compromised the personal information tied to more than 100 million accounts.

So-net Entertainment's spokesman, Keisuke Watabe said "Although we can't completely rule out the possibility that there is a connection with the PSN issue, the likelihood is low. At this point in our investigations, we have not confirmed any data leakage. We have not found any sign of a possibility that a third party has obtained members' names, address, birth dates and phone numbers."

The small data breach that occurred with So-net Entertainment Corp was not likely linked to the PSN attacks, but it does continue to dampen the reliable image of Sony Corp. This is especially true with the increased pressure by the Senate to secure the privacy of individual users.

We have to realize that we are a constant target for cyber criminals as the process of stealing has become something that can be done with the use of databases and computer programs. IT professionals, who working with corporations that deal with large consumer databases need to do their part to keep that personal information safe. One proven way to mitigate information security risks is through technical security training that will enhance the skills proficiency of the cyber security workforce. EC-Council has launched the Center of Advanced Security Training (CAST), to address the deficiency of technically proficient information security professionals.

Additionally, the all-new EC-Council CAST Summit series is also created to make advanced information security training opportunities available for information security professionals across the globe. It will be the excellent platform for any IT security professionals to acquire cutting edge skills by embarking on the CAST workshops, or further enhance their IT security knowledge by attending the one-day seminar.

The 3 days CAST Summit workshop covering current and important security topics such as penetration testing, application security, cryptography, network defense and mobile forensics training, and allows for participants to actually learn, and not just listen or be rushed through a short presentation like how it's like in many other events or conference. All of these IT security trainings will only conducted by appointed EC-Council Master Trainers, some of whom are authors of the respective trainings.