President Of Sony Online Entertainment Calls Hackers “Scumbags”

John Smedley is the President of Sony Online Entertainment, the developers of PlanetSide 2, and he recently posted a number of Tweets aimed towards players he feels are ruining his game.

[Irishguy95]

Don't you remember what happened the last time some hackers got pissed off at Sony?

Edit--whoops, accidentally disagree'd der Captain

[CaptainCamper]

I don't actually. Care to enlighten me? :D

[Dark_Overlord]

@decrypt

That's funny, I specifically remember anonymous hitting banks, government networks etc to, are they also run by monkeys?

Lets face it, NOTHING is secure, someone will always find a way in. Like that bloke who hacked NASA looking for proof of aliens.

[Campy da Camper]

Sir! We though we lost you in the woods of Alkania! Welcome back, sir! Where is Major Camper???

[Enemy]

He called game-breaking PlanetSide 2 hackers scumbags, not hackers in general. Desperate website seeking hits doesn't know reading comprehension.

[RememberThe357]

Bubbles for actually reading the article! Well done sir!

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

I wan't to learn to hack console but not to ruin peoples investment just intellectual curiosity.

I would buy a ps4 to play and one for programming.

Ironically this a sony pc article.. lol

[Bladesfist]

The test kit and dev kits for ps3 are hard to get a hold of. With a Vita you can just download the SDK and get to work. Much easier to just buy an Ouya and hack it though.

[Root]

Well they are, they cost them money and cost us online playing time.

[CaptainCamper]

Totally agreed but it's rare for someone so influential in the industry to be so bold about it.

+1 to Smedley from me :D

Why did 4 people disagree with my previous comment? I was being sincere...lol

[Metamorph93]

I agree.

I also think they should go after the people creating the hacks. Sony has enough money and power to do it. So what if it costs them a little money to get rid of the "scumbags?" That would save them more money and customers in the long run.

[MikeMyers]

Obviously he is frustrated by a small group out there who feel the need to ruin the fun for others.

Not all hackers are idiots mind you. In fact I'm sure some are actually highly intelligent. They just need to focus their interests elsewhere so that what they do don't impact other people who are not interested in the games being hacked.

We're still in the learning phase when it comes to online conduct. People get banned or warned on game forums for what they say, they get fired for what they say on Facebook, and have their accounts removed for violating the terms in games like Planetside 2. Part of the problem is the anonymity of it. The other is some people just don't care.

[GreenRanger]

That was very unprofessional of him.
Even if that's what he thinks, he's not supposed to say it.

[CaptainCamper]

Why not? One of the banes of this industry is the concept of how people are meant to behave.

How would you feel if you spent hundreds, maybe even thousands of hours supporting something for 1 idiot with a bit of coding knowledge to undo it all?

Don't get me wrong, there's a certain level of professionalism that should be maintained but when it comes to hackers, it's about time someone had to the balls to come out and say something honestly.

P.S Green Ranger rocked! :D

[pompombrum]

From a professional stand point, ranting about hackers is extremely unprofessional and not something a president of a company that deals with online based games should be doing. Time and time again those who have the "balls" to stand up to hackers have soon regretted it. Still he isn't even standing up to them really, he's just mad because hackers have made SOE seem unprepared.

Hell, I was messing around with aimbots and wallhacks (against friends) like 8 years ago.. anyone who makes an online fps for the PC should be well prepared before launch to handle such things. The rant just shows how much grief it has caused SOE which in turns makes them look lax by today's standards.

[EliteDave93]

Well, they are.

[tachy0n]

the fanboyism in N4G gets stronger everyday... lame

the only scumbags here are $ony themselves because how is it possible for them being a multibillion dollar company to have such a crappy security in their systems......

now thanks to anonymous, $ony got a wake up call to fix their crap, imagine how easy it was to get people information from the $ony networks....

come on sheeps, hit me with your disagrees....... u know I'm saying the truth.

[WeAreLegion]

You realize that Anon also hacked the FBI, five of the world's largest online security companies, the Bank of America, and NASA?

I think Sony's doing ok.

[nirwanda]

Game companys have so much code to go though just to fix bugs you only need to look at a game like skyrim to see how complicated it is, the last thing you need are a$$holes breaking games with rogue software, it doesnt matter if its sony, MS, PC or nintendo hacking online games ruins the game for everyone just for a cheep laugh

[Hicken]

...are you slow? EVERYTHING can be hacked.

THE PENTAGON has been hacked.

Oh, by the way, MICROSOFT has been hacked, too, in case you were wondering. In fact, accounts continue to be hacked, while Microsoft and blind fanboys blame it on phishing(cuz Major Nelson would fall for a phishing scam whose only purpose was to set his account to Russian).

Yes, Sony is a scumbag for being the target of hackers...

Edit: You'd have to ask Microsoft for "solid" proof. And they'll tell you what they've been saying since the beginning: it's user error.

But at the rate it's happening, can that REALLY be all there is to it? At least Sony doesn't go off blaming it on others.

[Bladesfist]

@Hicken can you give me some solid proof instead of word of mouth? I'm interested.

[tachy0n]

oh so you sheeps think storing costumer information in plain TXT files is a legit way to protect costumers?
*facepalm*

[finite]

Nope they are called your warning to pull your finger from your butts Sony and create better protection for your users.

Yes they are very bad and they are doing wrong, however do you see much happening to Microsoft Xbox system ... not half as much....

They should employ them since the hackers can do a better job than there security team.

[pompombrum]

You don't see much happening for the Xbox system because most of the hacking that takes place is account based and doesn't really get as much coverage. Better protection for users and Xbox don't exactly go hand in hand.. wait until your credit card gets maxed out as someone gains access (easier than you might think) to your account and goes on an MSP buying spree for stuff like Fifa ultimate team packs.

[finite]

Sorry to say, but the only card that is attached to any of my accounts are the simple and safe pre-paid cards..... so good luck to them if they did.

[pompombrum]

Yeah and you're the minority there I'd imagine. Still, we shouldn't need to use prepaid cards to ensure our security, that's a flaw with the system as much as it is proactive thinking by you.

[rainslacker]

Why would anyone employ someone who downloads a cheat to play their game? That's who he was talking about. Those people don't want Sony to create a better product, because then it means they couldn't cheat.

[-Gespenst-]

Way to provoke them! I don't want PSN going down again...

[GraveLord]

In this case he is talking about the hacker in Planetside 2 right? He has every right to call them scumbags.

[NastyLeftHook0]

hackers are scumbags, well the ones who use hacking for bad things.

[CrescentFang]

Not as bad as those who are falsely charging me on my credit card from PSN... and then I get banned for getting it investigated...

[smashcrashbash]

The funniest thing about this gen is the people who defend the people that do things like this. They can always find some excuse for them and they listen to all the rubbish that they talk about not meaning to do what they did. Like the people hacked Sony's system and said 'We didn't mean to cause you gamers problems' or the idiots who lost the keys that they weren't supposed to have for the PS3 and blamed it on someone else and claimed that now they HAVE to reveal them to everyone. It is not the hacking that gets to me so much, it's the stupid excuses and the people who believe them. Just admit that you are only hacking something because you can and there is no deep meaning behind your motives. Like the people who claim they are only hacking the VITA for homebrew when Sony is more then happy to let you do it legally. And people still try to pretend that they are doing it for homebrew so they can help us.

Same goes for everyone who hacks into things they are not supposed to. They act all high and mighty as if they are some deep sensitive souls when usually they are just a bunch of chaos causing trouble makers looking for attention. And when people tell them that is what they are they pretend to be outraged so they can get another excuse for causing chaos.'Oh I am so sensitive that you insulted me so I will post your information online. That is why I did it. It has nothing to do with my own evil, nasty, petty personality.It's the companies fault.They made me do it.I would have never done it otherwise'. Yeah right.

[Ducky]

... but the article has nothing to do with the stuff you're talking about.

You'll be hard pressed to find anyone that would defend aimbotters.

[annus]

Hurr durr someone does something I don't like so there must be other motives. Many 'hackers' do it out of curiosity, others for more freedom. Do you really find it that hard to believe that people wanted to add extra features to the PS3? Have you ever added a program to your computer simply for the fact that there wasn't already a program of that sort on your computer? Sure, everyone may not have had the same motives, but some people wanted to and others like GeoHot just LIKE trying to crack things, to them cracking a system can give the same pleasure that you get out of gaming. The 12 year olds that download custom firmware for the sole purpose of playing games for free is totally different, they aren't even in the category that society deems as 'hackers'.

Whether you like it or not, people are always going to experiment and try and change things, it's human nature, it will always happen. Remember, if it can be built, it can be destroyed.

[rainslacker]

You know, while he may like to crack things, if it affects other people negatively then it's a bad thing. Does he also get pleasure out of doing that? There's a word for that kind of behavior...sadist.

Or perhaps you should look at the definition of sociopath

a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

I think if these people your trying to defend took the responsible route when doing stuff like this because they enjoy it, by simply informing the companies of these flaws before someone uses them for ill-gotten rewards, then they'd have a much better time being accepted by the general populace.

There's a reason hackers(not talking pirates) are stereotyped the way they are. It's because their reasons are for selfish gains. It's not about empowering the consumer, as I don't remember one thing they've ever done which has made my power as a consumer become stronger. If anything it's affected me more negatively, with companies that take extreme positions on preventing me from just being able to use my product. The Vita is a prime example of Sony's reaction to what the hackers did on the PSP. So yeah, thanks hackers, I hope your happy. Go ahead and use all those things the Vita does to stop you as reasons for you doing it again. F**king Chicken and Egg.

[smashcrashbash]

These are the same excuses everyone makes. They were curious, they are trying to help.And they don't care what their help leads too whether it is piracy, cheating or leaving a system wide open to everyone else. I make a device in my company and no one asked to to break it open.You talk as if people like GeoHot are just full of child like wonder and are not responsible for what they cause. It's the same people that break into games and enable cheating which in turn the companies now have to work their butts off to prevent the legitimate people from being caught in the cross fire. No matter how many good intentions they claim to have they are never as good as people keep saying they are and I am certain these people are not as good as they keep claiming they are too. If they would use the talents they have like other hackers do to inform companies of leaks and breaks and flaws then people wouldn't look at them so negatively.But they break in take all your stuff post it on the internet or tell every thief and pirate about the flaws and backdoors then claim they were trying to show me that my system has a flaw. It's like stealing my car throwing it in a crusher then coming back and telling me this a lesson to keep my car more safe. These people have little sense of morality or anything and people pretend as if it means nothing.I hate when people say that. Just because many people are doing the wrong thing doesn't mean I have to accept it. That is not how it should work at all. If I want to open my door and let people in fine. But you don't bust my door of my hinges even when I tell you not to and insist it will be easier to get in without a door.I you were really a good person you should respect my decision to keep the door closed not selfishly open it anyway.

[annus]

I'm not saying what they do is correct, but you are looking at it totally wrong, you have to realise that experimenting with hardware and software are peoples jobs, they love it, they do it as a hobby as well as a career, you can't expect them to not do it, it's like expecting people to not find glitches or exploits in a game. Your car example is terrible, they haven't destroyed anything, if anything a better example would be them modifying their car and then stating what they have done to make it better, that's exactly what they are doing. The WHOLE reason it started was because sony took away the feature that let people do whatever they wanted. You don't sell a product with selling point and then take it away once the user pays money for it. Sony caused more bad than good when they did that, hell they should just open up everything, PC is completely open and despite what the console fanboys will tell you on here, PC online games are extremely good at keeping out hackers if they allow an admin.

[joeorc]

" The WHOLE reason it started was because sony took away the feature that let people do whatever they wanted. "

the PC market is not the Game console Market, they are not the same in how each business is structured, if they were there would be no d@mn need of game consoles! that's why there is PC's , that's why there is the OUYA, that's why there is Playstation Mobile.

That's why there is Linux. There is plenty of Open platforms to freaking choose from, not every platform needs to be completely Open!

They did not Take it away, that is illegal!, No what Sony did was remove out of the PS3 redesign "Slim" and every PS3 @ production forward from then on the Linux kernel exploit!

you could still run Linux on your PS3's that could still run them, this was done because it was not able to be done without the ok of the end user, so asking a hacker to close a loop hole would net you what result?

That's like asking a Hacker to give up his exploit? would he do it? that A: is quite clear!

Sony had no choice and the Hacker's know it. it was an exploit in Linux Kernel the "no random key generator" remember that fail over flow exploit..that somehow they just found out about?

yea like they never knew that one to exist?

right?

http://n4g.com/news/790458/...

if people still think what i said there, is not right, look at security blog's and forum post's by many of the hacker's themselves!

example:

And from the hacker community here. Seems that the bug was introduced in September 2006.

yea when was the freaking PS3 released?

what linux did the PS3 mainly use

that's right. what im telling you is the truth, it was about control of a "closed system" and where hackers want complete control of a freaking closed system , when they know its closed for a reason? it is that simple!

http://www.schneier.com/blo...

[rainslacker]

@annus

I, and I imagine most people, would have no problem with people who want to play around with the hardware and do whatever they want with it. It's when they go and start releasing their methods and code out on the internet for everyone to see that it becomes a problem. Hacking because you love it, and want to get the most out of the system you own, is quite alright to me. But there is a long history of these hacks leading to piracy. It's why the courts decided that it was NOT OK to jailbreak the PS3, because there is a long standing pattern.

Their enjoyment of the system affects end users in a negative way. While Sony, or any other manufacturer is trying to protect it's IP's, others, through selfish motivations, are cracking open the system. Opening up the system for people to do whatever they want isn't going to solve the problems that console manufacturers are trying to prevent. Having done so on the Vita means that it would have been hacked within the first week, and it would be even harder for Sony to gain software support. The reason they did it with the Vita is because while hardware sales went through the roof with the PSP hacks, software sales saw a steady decline. It wasn't something that they wanted to repeat, and now the average honest consumer is having to deal with things, some of them annoyingly stupid, because the hackers wanted to have their fun. It's also the reason they took out features that you say caused Sony harm, because it was the hackers that weren't responsible with how they handled their exploits, and Sony didn't want a repeat of the PSP, or even the PS2, which was cracked to high heaven itself. Ever notice that an announcement of a hack is often followed up by an announcement of a feature being removed?

Again...who benefited? A small group of people who enjoy fiddling with hardware. Who lost? The average honest consumer. So I say again...thanks a lot hackers for you guys looking out for our interest.

[RuleofOne343]

Don't condone hacking , but am not telling them to stop or insulting them. But if this how they want to address it. Good luck to him

[StreetsofRage]

PC Games, especially FPS, have had problems with hackers for ages.

[annus]

Apart from Planetside 2 (a free game), please name some that have had problems within the last few years. I think I have seen about 4 hackers total, 3 in counter strike which get banned instantly and 1 in BF3 on day 1 which was also banned instantly. CoD4 on PS3 was unplayable for about a week (before the whole hacking of the ps3), had people flying everywhere and instant killing everyone, and the 360 was even more chaotic for MW2 with hacked lobbies EVERYWHERE, laser guns, instant level ups, super speeds, everything. Far worse than I have seen on PC and I mainly only play on PC.

[Bladesfist]

Yep, I have seen much more hacking on 360 mainly because on PC all you have to say is "Admin X is hacking" and the admins can deal with it immediately.

[Redgehammer]

I agree, even back in the 80's, single player games were cracked and released with trainers, heck even Maze War, in the 70's, had a cheat mode. There has always been someone trying to gain an unsportsmanlike advantage, and those trying to play by the rules wherever humans compete. A fact that sucks, I might add

[SAE]

Neve hacked a game , it's stupid , no challenge if you hack so why playing the game ?. only evil thinking would do it to make fun of people lol ...

I hack some hardwares for features that is blocked for greed , i didn't hack my ps3 , but i will hack my vita , if sony took advantage of the vita i will support it just like the ps3 , i just bought another ps3 for my brother as a gift , i bought many ps3's , i had the yellow light twice , but i still didnt hack it because sony is giving me what i want but in vita , most of the things locked , i hate that , i want the features they promised us , if hackers were able to unlock them i will hack it , it wont effect sony nor the developers , i buy the games new ...

not all hackers are bad , actually this kind of hackers are smarter then you because they get what they want without effecting anyone , without hackers you would see more limitations ...

[onandonandon]

What absolute FUBAR!! So you only break the laws that u disagree with then? Nice attitude!!

[SAE]

No , i just want the features..

i don't care about their laws , i do what's right for me without effecting anyone , i support them but when i see a wrong thing i don't shut up and defend what they do ..

look at this , dont tell me you dont want to use it in vita , you have to pay 100$ to use a feature that is supposed to be free ...
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Im sorry for what happened to your friend , that's a lot of money lost , i hope sony returned the money to him , but i didn't mean this kind of hack , i mean the hack that open features)the good hack) not hack games or accounts ..etc

[rainslacker]

You don't find it ironic that Sony's major lock down of the Vita hardware is a direct result of the massive amounts of PSP hacks that were around during it's time?

Honestly, if it weren't for the PSP, I would be criticizing Sony to high heaven for the things they've done in this regard to the Vita, however, being a PSP owner I'm glad they are looking out for their long term goals with the system...and despite your high and mighty attitude, their attitude is much more in line with consumer and developer interest than yours.

Don't think so? I know you don't. But having had a PSP since day one I witnessed an utter decline in software support for the system due to hacks, thus not beneficial to the consumer. So yeah, your attitude and possible actions do affect others, despite what you say.

[SAE]

So you are admit that what sony do to the vita is wrong but for security , im not against security but not that way , the thing is that the locked features are not related to hackers , ps3 had more then account in the ps3 , did that help the hackers ?. no , remote controle could be used on the ps3 and pc them selfs and doesn't need dlc like what LBP 2 did ..etc

it's a greed thing , not related to hackers , it's like blaming hackers for the pass codes -.-

you see what i mean ?. sony combined security and greed , thats why people dont see it ..

[rainslacker]

If by greed you mean protecting their investment and interests in the system, then no, I don't admit that they were wrong.

Let's look at my three biggest complaints about the Vita, in no particular order.

1. No removable battery. What possible scenario could that be construed as greed? That is a direct result of the battery hacks on the PSP.

2. Proprietary Memory Cards. Maybe greed in the fact that they're obscenely expensive. But also a direct effect that piracy had on the PSP. Their cards are encrypted, and can not be used to run unsigned code. It also makes it harder for the average person to simply plug it into a regular card reader and load ripped images onto it.

3. Content Manager for transferring files. Again a direct result of piracy on the PSP. The content manager will not allow transferring of files that are not intended to be used on the machine. Pretty sure they don't make money on content manager, and it's likely more expensive for them to develop it and maintain it (despite how crappy it is), so not really greed.

I'm not sure what you mean by pass codes...if you are referring to online passes, that has more to do with the second hand sales market.

As far as the other locked features..I assume you are referring to remote play, as it's the only feature currently promised and unavailable on all but PS1 games...well they have stated they are working on it. However actual usage requires the publishers to support it, and they aren't likely to bother to patch their old games just for that, and there could be a myriad of reasons why it isn't standard across newer games, likely due to licensing issues, or the fact the publishers may want to capitalize on the Vita market with separate software.

Now, since we are both out of bubbles, I will say that if you hack your system, and never pirate anything, then I really don't have a problem with you. I assume that's what you meant by it doesn't effect developers. However hacking is not anywhere near as virtuous as you make it sound. My issue isn't with hacking directly, just in that it leads to piracy, which is generally bad for the industry.

[onandonandon]

Don't forget thieves too, they like to brag about hacking sony but not so much about the money they stole! My friend had over £5000 stolen!!

[SecretPsycho]

Wut?
You know all they got was emails from the psn hack right?

[onandonandon]

Really? I know different!

[SnakeCQC]

consumers have every right to be angry when features are taken away some programmers wanted to bring them back but sony made even more enemies by doing more douche moves. I love sony games but hate some of their decisions

[strigoi814]

Before hackers are there to find bugs and problems and make solution out of it..nowadays beeing a hacker is just to get money out of somebody's bank account and be more like terrorist asking for ransom in exchange for a proposal..

[Varodor]

I only one live in a world where hacking is a crime?