Lulzsec Hacks Sony
In June 2011, Lulzsec, a notorious Hacktivist group, hacked Sony through an SQL Injection attack into Sony’s systems. The attack stole most of the personal information that belonged to Sony customers, such as names, passwords, e-mails, and home addresses (Arthur, 2018). The group said that the attack was a revenge for legal action taken by Sony against hacker George Hotz for jailbreaking into the PlayStation 3. The group portrayed to have interfered with more than a million accounts, but Sony claimed the number of the affected accounts was way low. The Lulzsec hackers are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to criminal charges, including conspiracy of multiple counts to hack computers.
The SQL injection is a type of hack used to manipulate the security of a system, making it vulnerable for hackers to siphon all the data and information they want without the user’s consent. In Sony’s attack, the hackers targeted the customer’s details like social security numbers so that they can use or sell them on the dark web (Arthur, 2018). The personal information could also be used by hackers to access bank accounts and social media platforms, which might pose a threat to users.