I'm hoping law enforcement will track down and find the people responsible.

People should learn to spend the money they have, not the money they may have.

I still do not understand how a mean of payment as unsecure as a credit card can be so widespread. Maybe it's time the banks figure out a mean to pay that requires something more than just what is written on the damn card.

For example in my bank, to access e-banking, I have to have : a login, a password AND a card reader.
After I have entered my login and password, the e-banking website display a number. I have to put my bank card in the card reader, type in the number given by the website and then the PIN associated with my card. The card reader will then display another number that I have to enter.

So unless somebody manages to steal my login, my password, my card and my PIN, I'm safe.

Really, if my bank can do it for e-banking, Visa and Mastercard should be able to do it.

Too many people are blindly blowing this out of proportion.

Sony has announced it has taken the service down indefinitely

I wouldn't consider the Playstation Network to be an emergency, and don't see a reason a person would need to use a credit card on it. (as opposed to a debit card)

expect to restore some services within a week.

...but, your comment does make me wonder: Is it possible to use a credit card responsibly and NOT spend money you don't have? (which I would consider irresponsible)

we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID.

Hopefully, it will also be another nail in the coffin of the credit card, an inherently insecure and ridiculous concept that needs to die. People should learn to spend the money they have, not the money they may have.

And nice one, Thom: Passing judgement on everyone who has a "credit card" as being people who spend money they don't have.

That being said, its most likely their own in-house or middle-ware applications that were exploited. Which, again doesn't make a bit of difference what OS they were on.

I can't speak for Thom, but there is a distinction to be made between credit cards and debit cards.

"I can't speak for Thom, but there is a distinction to be made between credit cards and debit cards.

They were storing passwords in cleartext?

I hope Sony can restore PSN back to operation quickly and that the police prosecute the hackers to the maximum extent of the law.

Hackers violating the privacy of individuals is nothing new, and it wont ever go away.

There's always going to be a tradeoff between security and convenience. For example, with your system you could no longer just hand a credit card to the waiter after eating in a restaurant - you'd have to get up, go to the cashier, wait in line, type in your password, etc. And just imagine how many people would forget their passwords and be unable to pay. New technology might allow them to come around to your table with a mobile card reader, but that would take a while to become widespread.

Excessive faith in DRM schemes bundled into game consoles to keep their own network safe, probably.

That being said, saying you are being irresponsible by spending money you don't have is idiotic. How would a typical individual buy a house? Or a car? Or pay for college? Is it irresponsible to get a loan (essentially a line of credit) to pay for a college degree?

I think Paypal have found the right online banking solution, on the other hand : all payments are made from the company's website, so you only have to trust your computer, your internet connection, and Paypal themselves. Oh, and check that you're actually heading to Paypal's website, too, and not giving your information to "PaypaI" with a capital i.

Hello there; this is exactly how credit/debit cards work in France, the country were the smart card was invented. We even have mobile terminals everywhere that the waiter brings to you to read your card and enter your code. And nobody forgets his code, as we type it all the time. That or we are just naturally smart.

I'm always unsettled overseas when my card has just its magnetic band swiped and I just have to sign, and nobody really check the signature -which is easy to counterfeit, as it is already drawn on the back of the card. This is &*$#! dumb.

I don't see how entrusting Paypal with personal payment card information is different from entrusting any other company or their website with the same info.

The process is still the same: handing out private data to a third party, i.e besides yourself and your bank, that you need to trust (there's also a great deal of praying they are trustworthy involved).

Paypal is just as much (if not more) at risk of falling prey to these attacks / data thefts as any other website.

Cool. I agree those signatures are worthless even when they get checked, which is almost never. I suppose people probably could remember a 4 digit PIN if they used it all the time. I'm just wary of solutions like that because I know how often people forget their password where I work - they have to use it every day, it's ridiculous how often people mess it up.

I agree with you on the hackers vs crackers argument, but outside of open source/more involved tech circles the distinction is rarely made.

Although my understanding is that chip and PIN has some nasty security risks of its own due to design flaws...

Before you type next time ... try engaging your brain please.

I have savings as well I put away money, but I still use my Credit card because it is more convenient, then having to wait for the building society to open.

I pay very little in interest, maybe less than £10 a month.

This is why I'd love to see banks embracing a Paypal-ish mechanism where payment is done on their website, instead of putting emphasis on the inherently insecure system of handing your card information to everyone.

Not everyone will want one, but saying outright that having a credit card is wrong and you deserve your details stolen is ridiculous.

Unless someone gets AND your PIN AND your card AND you somehow fail to tell your bank... Then yes, then it's insecure.

In the previous comments and there you are effectively saying that anyone that uses a Credit Card are treating it as free money and are irresponsible and it was some sort of "lesson" to them.

If they can't guarantee that they should make their system work without it.s.

If someone states "gaming is dangerous because it turns people into killers", the implied meaning is that all gamers are killers. However, because I am not a killer, I do not feel offended by this statement. Even though I game, it does not apply to me. Get it?

How would a typical individual buy a house? Or a car? Or pay for college?

So by saying that people are irresponsible with credit cards, means that you are saying I am irresponsible ... because I also have a credit card.

People should learn to spend the money they have, not the money they may have

You lack basic reading comprehension skills.

"People are irresponsible with credit cards" DOES NOT MEAN "every person with a credit card is irresponsible". It also DOES NOT MEAN "you have a credit card, therefore you are irresponsible". It just says that people are irresponsible with credit cards - and they are. Not everyone, and those that are not to the same degree.

The mass of ordinary persons; the populace

People should learn to spend the money they have, not the money they may have.

I think the fact that you feel so offended by this speaks volumes of how you, especially after the recent crisis, really feel about credit cards, deep down.

Rationalise it all you want, but a credit card is used by many, many people to pay for things they don't need with money they don't have. I am full within my right to find that a despicable and destructive behaviour.

And, as the comment two above me states, it has NOTHING to do with mortgages or university loans, which fail the "do not need" test.

I'm sure many people would be perfectly able to handle a gun responsibly, but I still believe regular folk should NOT have access to them. Credit cards are of the same nature; they pose a danger to the public, as it promotes a culture that is detrimental to the economy - both at macro and micro levels.

Credit cards...[promote] a culture that is detrimental to the economy - both at macro and micro levels.

Unfortunately, the entire U.S. economy is founded on debt. If people every started opting out, I honestly think the whole economy here would tumble. Of course, that might not be a bad thing in the long run.

I'm glad to hear that! However, while the economy could theoretically go on, many large players in our current economy would go down in flames. I don't believe that could happen without very serious consequences.

I also believe the same arguments could be used for insurance. What if hospitals, auto repair shops, morticians, etc. couldn't count on private insurance? It would totally rearange several industries. Currently, in the U.S., people pay 5-10 thousand a year for medical insurance, and yet still have to deal with large medical costs. Something tells me that a whole lot of money is going to the wrong people. Nevertheless, a change in the arena would probably devastate a large part of our economy.

Can I get a show of hands on how many people here bought their home outright? What about their car?

This is why I like national health care. It removes this incentive. There is a fixed pool of resources, and physicians are paid reasonable salaries, are do not generate revenue by ordering tests and procedures.

Really, rationing is a necessity due to the fixed pool of resources. In the U.S., this rationing is done by the Insurance Industry (I suffer regularly at the hands of this!) - the classic coyote over-seeing the chicken coup! I would like to see the rationing done by your local physician in concert with groups like the AMA. Practically every civilized country BUT the U.S. has realized this necessity.

The author saying I have a poor reading comprehension,

Being told by others I am "evil"

The author not actually working in the tech industry himself

Things are inferred and implied by the tone and the words themselves ... so I will read into things that aren't said because .. that is what the human mind does, to stop this you have to remove the ambuguity. Again the burden is on you, not I, since you are the author.

The problem with credit cards is similar to the problems with guns. I'm sure many people would be perfectly able to handle a gun responsibly, but I still believe regular folk should NOT have access to them. Credit cards are of the same nature; they pose a danger to the public, as it promotes a culture that is detrimental to the economy - both at macro and micro levels.

I don't have a credit card, nor do I ever intend to get one. My bank card works all over the globe - even in some backwater town in Texas - and that's all everyone really needs. People need to learn that they can't buy that 70" flatscreen TV until their bank account allows them to - and not a second sooner. Credit cards have brought many a decent household down to the ground, and it needs to stop.

[user2] aswell you should never ever install a CFW from someone unknown
[user2] cuz its way too easy todo scamming at this point
[user2] for example:
[user2] [redacted plain text code, includes false credit card number]
[user2] sent as plaintext

[user2] i know a few guys who worked @ sony’s psn backend. just when the ps3 was released we talked bout the first psn, at this time ALL was http and unencrypted. so you could see userpass etc plain. i asked em why is it that way. lame answer was “we thought it was adressed.” â€" lol
[user2] sony qa â€"> trainees

[user2] another funny function i found is regarding psn downloads
[user2] its when a pkg game is requested from the store
[user2] in the url itself you can define if you get the game free or not. requires some modification in hashes and so on tho

As for guns, here in the US, the idea was for people to have the tools necessary to fight a government if need be, and treating the risk of irresponsible use as acceptable.

Eventually no one will be solvent and the system collapses under its own weight.