Sony Comments On Denial Of Service Attacks, Anonymous Targets Execs With Pranks

Sony has addressed network connection concerns caused by a denial-of-service attack launched by hacker collective Anonymous, as the group expands the scope of its pranks on the company's executives. "We are currently investigating [network problems], including the possibility of targeted behavior of an outside party," reads a statement from Sony reprinted by IGN. "If this is indeed caused by such an act, we want to once again thank our customers who have borne the brunt of the attack through interrupted service," the statement continues. "Our engineers are working to restore and maintain the services, and we appreciate our customers' continued support." Anonymous announced Monday it was targeting Sony in response to the company's continuing legal case against hackers that managed to circumvent security features that prevent the PlayStation 3 from running unsigned code. But the group's efforts have reportedly extended to pranks against Sony employees as well, with IRC chat logs suggesting that members target higher-ups in the company with unwanted packages and Skype calls, among other suggestions. In an interview with PlayStationLifeStyle, an Anonymous member going by the handle Takai claims to have obtained sensitive information about Sony employees and infrastructure, including "political campaign contributions, floral bouquets, the location of certain key servers in their network." While Takai said the group would stop short of endangering the personal safety of any Sony employees, they were not above targeting them for jokes. "If a few VPs wake up to 20 boxes of KY jelly at their front door, it’ll be great for lulz [sic]," he said. Referring to inconvenienced PSN users as "collateral damage," Takai asked for understanding and said the group had "no malicious intent" towards Sony's customers. "We’re here to say, the defenseless aren’t alone. Sony will not go trodding through the internet unchecked or unchallenged," he said.