UK regulator says Sony 'let everybody down' regarding the hack...
UK regulators have fined Sony for 'preventable' 2011 PlayStation Network hack. Sony will appeal.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has been fined £250,000 by the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) over the widespread 2011 PlayStation Network data breach, something that the regulatory body says "could have been prevented."
The ICO, said Sony had put the personal information of its customers at "unnecessary risk" and had "let everybody down" for failing to ensure such information could not be accessed during the hack in April 2011...
"If you are responsible for so many payment card details and log-in details then keeping that personal data secure has to be your priority," ICO deputy commissioner David Smith said. "In this case that just didn't happen, and when the database was targeted - albeit in a determined criminal attack - the security measures in place were simply not good enough."
"There's no disguising that this is a business that should have known better," Smith said. "It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there's no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe."
Now, it looks like Sony has plans to appeal the ICO's decision:
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe strongly disagrees with the ICO’s ruling and is planning an appeal.
SCEE notes, however, that the ICO recognises Sony was the victim of “a focused and determined criminal attack,” that “there is no evidence that encrypted payment card details were accessed,” and that “personal data is unlikely to have been used for fraudulent purposes” following the attack on the PlayStation Network.
Criminal attacks on electronic networks are a real and growing aspect of 21st century life and Sony continually works to strengthen our systems, building in multiple layers of defence and working to make our networks safe, secure and resilient. The reliability of our network services and the security of our consumers’ information are of the utmost importance to us, and we are appreciative that our network services are used by even more people around the world today than at the time of the criminal attack.
As you may remember, Sony CEO Kaz Hirai was one of several high-ranking executives who personally apologised for the hack, and the company eventually offered its users a selection of free games as compensation for the downtime...
Kotaku apparently has official Orbis documentation...
Website Kotaku has apparently got an official PS4/Orbis doc from 'SuperDae', the same person who leaked info on the next-gen Xbox development kits last year...
And, here goes another rumor regarding Sony's upcoming console.
Now Kotaku has just published specs, controller, and account details of the final PlayStation 4/Orbis development kit.
These are the current specs for a PlayStation 4 development kit—specifically model # DVKT-KSoooK—as of January 2013, and not those of the final retail console itself.
• System Memory (RAM): 8 GB
• Video Memory: 2.2 GB
• CPU: 4x Dual-Core AMD64 “Bulldozer” (so, 8x cores)
• GPU: AMD R10xx
• Ports: 4x USB 3.0, 2x Ethernet (note: this is a development kit, the two ethernet ports are there for local sharing and testing purposes)
• Drive: Blu-Ray
• HDD: 160GB (note: this is a development kit, not the console you will own and store media on)
• Audio Output: HDMI & Optical, 2.0, 5.1 & 7.1 channels
Well, keeping in mind this is dev kit info and not the final specs from the console (ie. dev kits usually include more RAM than the console itself), this actually matches with all the recent rumors floating on the net.
But, there's more...
Controller
Developers are using DualShock 3 and Sixaxis controllers with their PlayStation 4 development kits, suggesting the design and capabilities of the new controller will be largely similar to that of the current design. A PlayStation Move controller is also shown in the documentation, hinting that Sony’s motion controller will also work with the new console.
Last week, a CVG report claimed Sony was throwing away the current DualShock 3 design for a new controller that would try “to emulate the same user interface philosophies as the PS Vita.” Many assumed this meant Sony would create a controller with a touch screen similar to the Wii U GamePad. That would be false, according to these documents. There is a new controller in the works, but it will instead feature a touch pad that can recognize two-point multi-touch. It can also be clicked. It’s listed in the documentation as the Orbis Development Tool.
Like its PlayStation 3 predecessors, the PlayStation 4 controller will also be capable of vibration and motion-sensing, but this time with improved technology like tilt correction. It also has a new button, “Share,” but details on what it does aren’t listed.
Accounts
Sony is pioneering “multi-user simultaneous logins” with PlayStation 4, meaning that more than one person can be logged into the system at the same time. To do this, it links controllers to user accounts—when you turn on your controller, you’ll be prompted to sign in. It is unclear whether this only works with accounts on the system, or also with PlayStation Network accounts if you were playing online.
This feature could be put to use in multiplayer boss battles, for instance, where every place would receive Trophies for defeating the enemy.
Now, as there's nothing confirmed yet, consider this as a rumor. And, stay tuned, as an official console reveal could be close...
Finally after much beta testing the v4.30 firmware is ready.
Team Cobra wants to thank all their beta testers, and now are proud to announce the v4.30 firmware and v6 update is now available for all their loyal Cobra-USB users
We're pleased to present Cobra-USB FW V6, available along with the respective CFW 4.30 from the downloads section!
After successful Beta testing, we can confirm that Cobra now operates on 4.30 CFW, allowing you to enjoy the latest releases whilst enjoying Cobra functionality as well. Thanks to all Cobra USB owners for their patience and support.
Look out for the soon to be released Cobra ODE, bringing freedom and versatility to the scene!
*Please note that region free support for PS1/PS2 titles still needs to be improved in future firmware update.*
The new version of Aldos' collection of PS3 tools contains a new version of Bruteforce Save Data, the PS3 FTP Client, Cheats Editor, and more!
PS3 Tools Collection by aldostools is a collection of Windows applications (+28) aimed for the PlayStation 3.
The new version includes updates for many of the tools included, like the FTP Client, Cheats Editor, Bruteforce Save Data, PS3 Game Integrity and PKG ContentID.
Check out the full changelog:
Bruteforce Save Data 2.3.2
It's a frontend for flatz save data tools 0.2.3. It finds the keys of several games in seconds and let you resign your saved games.
Changes:
• Added confirmation when leaving a save decrypted, fixed status for UNPROTECTED saves, added status bar.
PKG ContentID 2.0.2 (New experimental features)
It's a tool for view quickly the ContentID of a PKG. It also manages several file associations for a seamless integration with Windows Explorer. Please read the readme for details.
Changes:
• Added Make EDAT License PKG
• Convert RAP to RIF and Convert RIF to RAP to the context menu of .edat/.rap/.rif file.
• PKG Authentication feature that verifies the SHA-1 for the content of the PKG and RAP/edat files authetication.
PS3 FTP Client 3.0.0
It's a full FTP client that allows remote access to your PS3 via a PC. It is still a WIP and some features are not complete. Currently the main feature is the PS3 file ripper via FTP. Other features include: file description, view cover image for selected folder, multiMAN remote commands, etc.
Changes:
• Improved speed using persistant cached folders.
PS3 Cheats Editor 2.4.2
Edits the cheats database for ps3usercheat (st.dat). Allows export/import cheats to the database in text and binary formats. 3.55 CFW is required.
Changes:
• This version includes a cheats database for 504 games compiled by gingerbread @ ps3hax and a link to his discussion thread.
PS3 Game Integrity 1.3
This tool calculates the MD5 or SHA-1 for a file or folder (and sub-directories) and generate a content.md5 file for future verification. If the content.md5 is present in the folder, the program reports if any file was deleted, added or changed. This tool is very useful to check if your game has missing or corrupted files due bad sectors, virus or cross-links (which are very common when an USB device is removed from the PS3 while it is turned on).
Changes:
• PKG content authetication and a MD5 database that helps to identify potentially corrupted RAP/edat files.
'Computer games keep me mentally active'. 86-year-old Hilda Knott has been playing games for 40 years to keep her mentally active.
BBC News shows her playing GTA IV and... Disgaea 4?!
A short clip from BBC News introduces Hilda Knott, a woman who approaches her 86th birthday and likes to play a range of PS3 games on her giant 65-inch HDTV (that helps with her eyesight).
And, it looks like she plays games with her aunt - who is 94!
"We have an hilarious time", Hilda told the BBC.
"I enjoy finding something new in the game - getting onto the next stage or the next event - and then the achievement of finishing it," she said.
[...]
Games aren't just fun for Hilda. She says they help her stay mentally agile too.
"As well as adventures and fighting games, there are puzzles for working out how to do something," she added.
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Rumor: PS4/Orbis final devkit specs, touch-pad controller and new account system
EXCLUSIVE: Cobra-USB have released v4.30 firmware
