So, I just read an article on Daily Finance entitled, "Sony Spits on Innovation." No, they don't do so physically (I checked)... it's a metaphor for the fact that Sony's response to having their gaming network (the PlayStation Network - or "PSN") hacked to heck and back is to slap a Bandaid on it and then make everyone who uses it agree that they won't sue if the network gets hacked again.
I get it... and agree... with the basic sentiment. Sony is a major force in the world of electronic entertainment. IF they offer online gameplay, it should be secure. User information should not be vulnerable to attack... and the first step is that any unnecessary customer info should not be stored to begin with. My credit card should not be sitting on a server somewhere, waiting for some hacker to break in an buy themselves something nice simply because I decided I wanted to buy a DLC song for Rock Band.
However, in addition to being a gamer and a game reviewer, I am also a software engineer. As such, I can tell you that if you're interested in writing secure software, that pretty much has to be taken into consideration from the beginning. Every time a new function/method/interface/webpage/etc. is created/fixed/upgraded or otherwise changed, it has to be tested to make sure that it is still secure... and that changes to that piece don't cause exploitable issue in other parts that interact with the part that changed. It's a tall order, especially when a lot of software developers don't know how to write secure code.
So, truthfully, taking the network code they already have and simply throwing resources at it in the hopes of "securing" it isn't truly an option. It would be better -by far- to start from scratch, either by purchasing something from a third party (MicroSoft... wanna make some more money from XBox Live?) or by building a new online network from scratch, throwing some talented developers in a dark room and throwing pizza, Red Bull, Dr. Pepper and beer into the room at carefully metered dosages to achieve the optimum development environment and keeping them in there until a new, secure, PlayStation Network is done.
That process, however, takes money, talented individuals and, well, time. Lots of time... We're not talking geographic time, here, but we're definitely talking about more time that your average gamer (and, for that matter, even PlayStation fan-boys) are willing to wait to get back online with the PlayStation Consoles. Online gamers should be fairly familiar with these types of agreements, for that matter, since you sign agreements every time you join a network or start to play a game online. This time, however, someone actually read one... hence, the flack.
I like PlayStation games, but I'm not a big online gamer, personally. For that matter, it seemed the general consensus was that Xbox LIVE had won the online gaming contest some time ago. If Sony wants to compete (on any level) in the online gaming arena, they need to reinvent their online gaming network... and I expect that, at some point, they will.
Personally, I hope that this agree-not-to-sue-us clause is merely something to buy Sony the time needed to complete the above-mentioned dark room-pizza-beverage scenario. In the mean time, you can either choose to play at your own risk or simply not play Sony games online.
Sum Ergo Demonstro
4 weeks ago
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