Report: Hacktivists planning attack on Sony 

Hacktivist group Anonymous may be planning a hack attack on Sony this coming week, as part of its protest against the US Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

 

But aside from the usual defacing, the hackers plan to plaster Sony's homepage with pirated music, IT Security site SC Magazine reported.

 

"The Anonymous collective plans to hack Sony.com and load the homepage with BitTorrent files that allow users to download copyright-protected music and movies — the very action SOPA is designed to prevent," SC Magazine said.

 

It said the move aims to punish the company for supporting the controversial SOPA.

 

Sony is only one corporation supporting the SOPA. The SC Magazine report said the US Judiciary Committee lists MasterCard Worldwide, CBS, the International Association of Fire Fighters, Revlon and Pfizer among other supporters of the SOPA bill.

 

Hackers also plan to strike Sony Music's online store, reducing the cost of songs to zero, SC Magazine added.

 

The report also said Anonymous plans to plaster personal details of company executives on the defaced homepage, in an act known as doxing.

 

"Anonymous calls the defaced page 'the payload' to which visitors to Sony websites all over the world will be redirected," it added.

 

But the report also said the hackers in Operation Sony (OpSony) are taking care not to draw the ire of gamers by damaging the PlayStation Network as it did in February.

 

Different teams

 

"Certain skilled hackers have been placed into elite, members-only teams, Eta, Theta and Zeta, which have been tasked with hacking into Sony's online stores so the payload may be uploaded," it said.

 

While Eta will try to eliminate price tags on the Sony store, Zeta will seek a means to upload the payload and redirect visitors to Sony sites to it.

 

Theta will attempt to prevent Sony from rectifying the damage.

 

The remaining Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma teams have developed the payload and are open for anyone to participate.

 

Alpha is collating copyright-infringing torrents, Gamma works on doxing Sony executives and Delta is drafting a press release.

 

Team Beta is working on presentation of the data and a final group, Iota, aims to spread Anonymous propoganda including flyers, posters, and “shitting on executives' lawns.”

 

Draft release

 

SC Magazine cited a draft press release from Team Delta as saying, "Last April, we took down the Playstation Network. We are firmly rooted in your servers and we can, at will, take them down again."

 

Team Delta's draft press release was optimistic: “Last April, we took down the Playstation Network. We are firmly rooted in your servers and we can, at will, take them down again.” — RSJ, GMA News