In the middle of April 2011, Sony faced an outage to the PlayStation network that revealed 100 million users private information. Approximately one month later the network is still down and raising plenty of questions regarding the security of cloud computing. This outage is sure to have an impact on the way in which most individuals perceive the security of the cloud.
Speculative Reports
Reports have been published indicating that Sony was using outdated software that helped the cyber criminals perform the attack. However, this information is speculative. Sony representatives have still not confirmed a date when the network is to be restored.
Giving Back to the Gaming Community
Historically Sony has had a loyal following. However, after this incident gaming experts have predicted that Sony may have to offer a lot to appease those same users. Many gamers are upset that the company has taken so long to speak out about the incident and are not keeping users in the loop.
The Attacks
According to a report published by CNET, Sony was initially aware of the attack on April 19th, 2011 after several PlayStation Network servers were unexpectedly rebooted. Immediately after, four servers were taken offline to learn what exactly was occurring. By the following day, six additional servers were attacked and taken offline.
Sony has attempted to blame the hacktivist group, Anonymous, but they have denied involvement. An internet security expert had told Congress that Sony was running outdated Apache software during the attack. However, this information was passed along unconfirmed.
Sony’s Security Measures
Sony continues to defend its security measures stating that all procedures were in place and patches and updates were recently applied to the software and subsequent firewalls. In addition to the security measures, the organization is being called out for its treatment of users during the entire charade.
Wake-up Call for the Cloud Computing Industry
As a result, many cloud computing experts feel the new web hosting technology has taken a knock or even a wake-up call. One of the largest issues with cloud computing is the liability. The industry is currently developing standards and regulations for the new technology. Until these are implemented, public cloud adoption is expected to be cautious and therefore slow.
Aside from the affected 100 million PlayStation Network users, those in the cloud computing industry may see a significant decrease in the number of new customers. This debacle has proven that security is in fact an issue in the cloud.