Sony BMG Greece hacked
By Ashley Curtis
23/05/2011
In a cruel twist of fate, Sony BMG, the music arm of the firm, has been infiltrated by hackers.
The Register confirmed that the hackers attacked over the weekend, swiping telephone numbers and passwords from the site.
The techniques used in the hack are unclear but, according to security experts, some form of "SQL injection-based assault following the use of automated scanning tools to find vulnerable Sony websites seems probable."
Chester Wisniewski, a security insider, elaborated on the attack in The Inquirer. He argued: "An anonymous poster has uploaded a user database to paste.bin, including the usernames, real names and email addresses of users registered on SonyMusic.gr."
However, whilst small-to-medium businesses can employ IT system management software to protect their passwords, establish anti-virus and anti-malware, worldwide firms like Sony will find it much more difficult to protect their networks.
Wisniewski explained why, stating: "It is nearly impossible to run a totally secure web presence, especially when you are the size of Sony."
"As long as it is popular within the hacker community to expose Sony's flaws, we are likely to continue seeing successful attacks against them."
However, there is a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel for Sony, he said: "Whilst it's cruel to kick someone while they're down, when this is over, Sony may end up being one of the most secure web assets on the net."
