Sony and Epsilon finally agreed to testify to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade. They wanted answers as to why millions of people had their personal e-mails exposed and wanted to know why Sony seemed to take so long to let it's customers know about the breach. You can read the full questions here in the letter addressed to Sony Chairman Kazuo Hirai.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/technology/20110428-sony-letter.pdf
This drama was all started by George Hotz, who first unlocked the iPhone, and then hacked Sony in protest of the company removing a function that allowed other systems to be used with Sony over a year ago. Hotz decided to put them back and teach everyone who wanted to know how to do it as well. It's called jailbreaking.
http://technologizer.com/2011/04/11/sony-george-hotz-settle-ps3-hacking-lawsuit/
Hotz denies all involvement in the recent hack and say to those responsible "Don't be a [d*ck] and sell people's information."
http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-brief/55631-george-hotz-comments-on-the-psn-debacle
I actually have two questions, one related to each case.
1. Do you think the government should step in and regulate these large companies to better protect our privacy basically saying that it is the companies faults that they were hacked?
2. Do you think Hotz and others have the right to reinstall something that Sony removed since it had formerly been an advertised feature of the Playstation system simply because they have the knowledge to do so? Does this mean they are protected under the First Amendment?
And in an unrelated question, does he look like a child to anyone but me?
Sources:
Bono Mack, Mary, and G.K. Butterfield . "To Hirai, Kazuo." April 29, 2011. Congress
of the United States House of Representatives. Web.
Newman, Jared. "Sony and George Hotz Settle PS3 Hacking Lawsuit." Technologizer.
Time.com, April 11, 2011. Web. 3 Jun 2011.
Luttrell, Mike. "George Hotz comments on the PSN debacle." TG Daily April 28, 2011.
Web. 3 Jun 2011.
1.The government should stay out of it. Regulation only makes things more difficult. What needs to happen is someone needs to take responsibility for the breach. What Hotz did was illegal and he should face the consequences for it. Sony, now, needs to focus on how to handle the breach and create a plan of action if credit card information was leaked out. For companies to be successful, consumers are their priority. Depending on how Sony handles this will depend on whether they gain or lose customers. In the letter to Sony Chairman, Kazuo Hirai, the Committee on Energy and Commerce asked two very good questions. Questions 12 and 13 address policy on data security and retention practices. Hopefully, Sony does have a policy on data security. If they don’t, it is time they made one!
ReplyDelete2.Good question! I do not believe Hotz had the right to reinstall a Sony PlayStation feature. He should have contacted Sony and expressed what he wanted to the company. He has every right to voice what he wants as a consumer!
And yes, Lola……..he looks like a child. LOL
I believe that when you purchase a product that product is yours and you should be able to do with as you please. If this means hacking into it to release or add features then so be it. Unless I misunderstood what he actually did, Hotz was claiming his right as a consumer.
ReplyDeleteNow should he post his instructions online? Probably not as this lead to the inappropriate and illegal use of hacking, but I do not see how he was doing anything illegal himself.
And yes, Hotz is 21-years-old, but he looks younger.
1) I am not sure that more governmental regulations are going to be the answer here. Companies are certainly taking notice of the incident and taking steps to ensure they aren't subject to the same public ire. It is also likely that the Harvard Business Review will write a "fictional" case study about the incident for future CEOs to consider.
ReplyDeleteWe have talked about it before, but the subjects and conditions that we regularly sign up for when buying a product are ridiculous. For an example, check out this article: http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gamesgear/nintendo-owns-your-3ds-photos-will-brick-consoles-running-pirated-games-50003795/.
I hate to say this Sony has had a sordid history with respecting its customers rights (see the rootkit fiasco of a couple years back: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal), so I can't say that I am surprised that this happened.
2) I do believe he had the right to hack his device. When you buy a 400 dollar electronic device, I believe that you should be able to do what you want with it, provided you aren't hurting anyone and aren't engaged in illegal activities like pirating games.
What a great question! I do not think that the government should step in and regulate large companies to better protect our privacy. I do however think that companies should want to take it upon themselves to be protective over their customer’s personal information and privacy. I think companies should take their customer’s privacy very seriously and make it part of their priorities to make customer’s privacy a commitment.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I know this does not always work in the real world. I would say the burden then lies on the customer to choose a company that has their personal information and privacy rights near and dear to their mission and purpose.
I'm not sure but that our current government might really like to regulate one more thing. ;)
ReplyDelete