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This is very different than the Target hack -- we have become numb to credit card focused hacks -- we all know the drill, we just get a new card in the mail a f

by pquerna 11y ago

This is very different than the Target hack -- we have become numb to credit card focused hacks -- we all know the drill, we just get a new card in the mail a few days later, and the banks are pretty good at detecting fraud: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/credit-card-fraud-and-id-theft-statistics-cm520388 http://www.nasdaq.com/article/credit-card-fraud-and-id-theft... To me both Sony and Ashley Madison are part of a very different type of hack, that we are just starting to understand. They leak massive amounts of personal information, and this personal information can and does ruin lives. This article outlines much of the emotional turmoil that Sony employees went through, and in Ashley Madison, there were suicides as a result: http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/08/technology/ashley-madison-suicide/ http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/08/technology/ashley-madison-su... You can rotate your credit card number, but rotating your real life is not possible. I don't see a way out. Going anonymous might be possible for living on the internet, but you cannot be anonymous to your employer.

jsprogrammer 11y ago
>but you cannot be anonymous to your employer. Why not? Why does your employer need all of your personal information? If your employer can't even secure your basic info, maybe the relationship with the employer should be rethought?
- nickpsecurity 11y ago
  They need your SSN and other critical info for tax reasons. Probably other regulations in states where I have little experience. Only obvious escape while still being marketable is having your own company and doing business in the company name. "Jsprogrammer & Associates Inc." Then, you get to pay extra taxes and stuff. Assuming they even hire you under such a scenario. ;)
- untog 11y ago
  > If your employer can't even secure your basic info, maybe the relationship with the employer should be rethought? Of course it should. Why on earth does my employer control my access to healthcare? Don't count on that system changing any time soon, though.
gruez 11y ago
Can you elaborate how the Sony hack ruined people's lives? How much information can possibility be attached to a psn account?
- mikeash 11y ago
  It wasn't just PSN accounts, but tons of internal details that involved lots and lots of employees.
- moyix 11y ago
  I don't think they're talking about the PSN hack, but rather the release of tons of internal company emails. Just to cite one example of how this can ruin lives, Charlie Sheen's HIV-positive status was referred to in one email [1] (though it wasn't discovered until after he publicly announced it). [1] http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/charlie-sheen-hiv-positive-sony-hack-email-discussed-open-secret/ http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/charlie-sheen-hiv-posi...
- foldor 11y ago
  You're thinking of the wrong Sony hack, this article details Sony Pictures. The organization as whole has been in the spotlight for this a few times now.
lfam 11y ago
I'm very interesting in maintaining security and privacy while still being able to use the internet, so please don't interpret this comment as a dismissal of your concerns. I share your concerns 100%. But I hate the phrase "ruin lives". How are lives ruined? Bad things happen to people all the time, and their lives continue. It's really a poor way to talk about these issues.
- untog 11y ago
  But I hate the phrase "ruin lives". How are lives ruined? Bad things happen to people all the time, and their lives continue. It's really a poor way to talk about these issues. Leaking of your social security number can result in your credit rating being ruined for years. This will leave you unable to take our a mortgage, buy a car, etc. etc. In the Ashley Madison hack, details of people being unfaithful in their marriages was exposed, which has led to divorce and even suicide. If that doesn't count as a "ruined life", what does?
  - lfam 11y ago
    Those are all major problems. I think that "ruined life" is crap Newspeak. It's like "boots on the ground", "inner-city", "financial crisis", "cloud", and a billion examples from the "business world". These phrases prevent thought and communication rather than facilitate it. Aside from that, people will respond to those problems in a myriad of ways. Almost all of them keep living and return to their baseline emotional state again. Using the phrase "ruined life" ignores human resiliency which is very powerful. It makes us sound like teenagers experiencing our first heartbreak.
    - untog 11y ago
      So you're saying that we shouldn't use "ruined life" in any circumstances? I'm not really sure what the appeal is to here - that we should only ever use clinical and unemotional words when describing things? Seems like a net loss to me. If I think my life has been ruined why can't I say that?
      - 11y ago
scardine 11y ago
At the time I was working in the same building of the Sony offices in Brazil and overheard people commenting about the incident on the elevator. I still think it was an internal job. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/scardine/random-writings/master/text3452.png https://raw.githubusercontent.com/scardine/random-writings/m...

by pquerna 11y ago

jsprogrammer 11y ago

>but you cannot be anonymous to your employer. Why not? Why does your employer need all of your personal information? If your employer can't even secure your basic info, maybe the relationship with the employer should be rethought?

nickpsecurity 11y ago
They need your SSN and other critical info for tax reasons. Probably other regulations in states where I have little experience. Only obvious escape while still being marketable is having your own company and doing business in the company name. "Jsprogrammer & Associates Inc." Then, you get to pay extra taxes and stuff. Assuming they even hire you under such a scenario. ;)
untog 11y ago
> If your employer can't even secure your basic info, maybe the relationship with the employer should be rethought? Of course it should. Why on earth does my employer control my access to healthcare? Don't count on that system changing any time soon, though.

gruez 11y ago

Can you elaborate how the Sony hack ruined people's lives? How much information can possibility be attached to a psn account?

mikeash 11y ago
It wasn't just PSN accounts, but tons of internal details that involved lots and lots of employees.
moyix 11y ago
I don't think they're talking about the PSN hack, but rather the release of tons of internal company emails. Just to cite one example of how this can ruin lives, Charlie Sheen's HIV-positive status was referred to in one email [1] (though it wasn't discovered until after he publicly announced it). [1] http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/charlie-sheen-hiv-positive-sony-hack-email-discussed-open-secret/ http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/charlie-sheen-hiv-posi...
foldor 11y ago
You're thinking of the wrong Sony hack, this article details Sony Pictures. The organization as whole has been in the spotlight for this a few times now.

lfam 11y ago

I'm very interesting in maintaining security and privacy while still being able to use the internet, so please don't interpret this comment as a dismissal of your concerns. I share your concerns 100%. But I hate the phrase "ruin lives". How are lives ruined? Bad things happen to people all the time, and their lives continue. It's really a poor way to talk about these issues.

untog 11y ago
But I hate the phrase "ruin lives". How are lives ruined? Bad things happen to people all the time, and their lives continue. It's really a poor way to talk about these issues. Leaking of your social security number can result in your credit rating being ruined for years. This will leave you unable to take our a mortgage, buy a car, etc. etc. In the Ashley Madison hack, details of people being unfaithful in their marriages was exposed, which has led to divorce and even suicide. If that doesn't count as a "ruined life", what does?
- lfam 11y ago
  Those are all major problems. I think that "ruined life" is crap Newspeak. It's like "boots on the ground", "inner-city", "financial crisis", "cloud", and a billion examples from the "business world". These phrases prevent thought and communication rather than facilitate it. Aside from that, people will respond to those problems in a myriad of ways. Almost all of them keep living and return to their baseline emotional state again. Using the phrase "ruined life" ignores human resiliency which is very powerful. It makes us sound like teenagers experiencing our first heartbreak.
  - untog 11y ago
    So you're saying that we shouldn't use "ruined life" in any circumstances? I'm not really sure what the appeal is to here - that we should only ever use clinical and unemotional words when describing things? Seems like a net loss to me. If I think my life has been ruined why can't I say that?
    - 11y ago

scardine 11y ago

At the time I was working in the same building of the Sony offices in Brazil and overheard people commenting about the incident on the elevator. I still think it was an internal job. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/scardine/random-writings/master/text3452.png https://raw.githubusercontent.com/scardine/random-writings/m...