This week members of Anonymous launched two distinctly different operations in retaliation to Sony's lawsuits against George "GeoHot" Hotz and German-based Alexander Egorenkov, who goes by the alias "graf_chokolo": OpSony began with a temporarily successful DDoS attack on two official PlayStation websites as well as the law firm representing the company in its case against Hotz, while SonyRecon promised to utilize more insidious methods: collecting data on Sony employees and their families for use in potential Dox attacks, or scams.
A new video produced by the 'hacktivist' group draws distinctions between the simultaneous operations and tackles criticism that despite its proclaimed noble intentions "OpSony" is harming the very people it's meant to defend: consumers.
In the recent press release/video, Anonymous defended its decision to attack Sony, citing the company's "outrageous treatment" of both PS3 hackers and owners.
"The fact that their litigation demanded information on everyone who had viewed the material, was completely unacceptable," says Anonymous. "This is a threat not only to the gaming community, but to freedom of information in general. The fact that the privacy of individuals can be violated, simply for accessing information, and legal action can be taken for doing something with something you own, are steps far beyond the line."
Originally, the group framed OpSony as a reaction to Sony's "corrupt business practices" which prevented PlayStation 3 owners from doing what they wanted with the system they bought. And just after releasing the initial press release, that reaction was in motion.
However, one day later a new group -- SonyRecon -- debuted and drew immediate criticism for its modus operandi: compiling information on high-ranking Sony executives and their families to possibly illicit ends. OpSony was similarly called out for its "collateral damage": PlayStation Network downtime that affected gamers and was a far cry from the group's stated focus on public Sony sites.
Though Sony itself was hesitant to confirm or deny that the PSN was affected by OpSony (the company issued a statement admitting it was "investigating the possibility"), Anonymous claimed further attacks on the PSN would not occur.
"Anonymous is not attacking the PSN at this time," states the message. "Sony's official position is that the PSN is undergoing maintenance. We realize that targeting the PSN is not a good idea. We have therefore temporarily suspended our action, until a method is found that will not severely impact Sony customers."
The collective also pointed out that OpSony and SonyRecon were two distinct undertakings with participation that may not intersect. "Anonymous Operations are generally independent efforts, and it would be a mistake to assume that the same individuals are responsible for every action taken. Anonymous is comprised of people with diverse points of view, of which not all coincide with one another."
