Introduction The case that is discussed in this paper is Sony Reels from Multiple Hacker Attacks. The paper will touch different points regarding this case. One of the interest points refers to the Sony PSN debacle and the costs of the incident. Another interest point refers to gaming and virtual services over the Internet, such as WOW, SL, and Sony PSN. The paper also focuses on catching hackers and sentencing them (whether or not they should be). Another point of the paper is to discuss whether or not it is good for companies not to admit when there is a data breach within their system. The last point of discussion refers to a personal example of identity theft.
Sony Reels from Multiple Hacker Attacks According to International Business (2011), the last time that Sony's Playstation Network has been attacked was in May 2011 because multiple users have reported complaints to the company. There has been more than $1,200 stole from the accounts of the users. This may not be a large sum of money, but it is something. Anyway, security experts consider that this company is sill vulnerable to cyber attacks from all over the world. Sony PSN has been hacked several times during its history. There are gaming and virtual services over the Internet like the World of Warcraft, Second Life, and Sony's PSN. Each of these services are paid and the companies store credit information online. In order to be protected and to protect the information of their consumers, these companies need to primarily increase the level of security of their services by eliminating all possible vulnerabilities that malicious users may exploit in order to gain access to the data. Secondly, these companies need to inform and train their users for good practices with their accounts and for data protection. It is reasonable to think that such companies will have and have measures to stop the best hackers in the world because if they do not do such thing, they will most likely lose their customers and face massive lawsuits. There are many cases in history when hackers have been caught and then transformed into good guys. Some of them have been sent to jail due to the severity of their actions. However, when hackers commit cyber-crimes they are seen as the other delinquents as well. They are no different. However, in their mastery of computer, they have skill, and this skill can be used not only for bad purposes, but also for good purposes. So, when appropriate, hackers would represent a tool in counter-fighting terrorism and various cyber-crimes. They can even be used to catch other hackers as well. Moving from one to other, most companies do not want to publicly announce data breaches in their systems. They do this in order to protect their reputations as companies and the level of confidence that users may have regarding their online environment. There is a lot to be gained from such actions; and one of the most important gains is represented by the customers. It may not be ethical to do so; however, it is at the edge of legality for companies to do so. The last point in this paper refers to personal identity theft stories. Personally, I have not been the subject of such actions so far. Hopefully, this would not happen in the future either. This does not mean that my email is not flooded with spam every now and then. The only way of not being subject to such scam and phising emails is not to use an email address, which cannot be the case. I personally check my credit card report every few days, just to make sure that nothing unusual happens.
Conclusion
The subject of this paper related to cyber attacks and online crimes. It referred to Sony PSN and the fact that it has been hacked several times. It then talked about gaming and online services which store credit card and personal information and the ways to be protected from data breach in this case. Another discussion was regarding hackers who are being caught and companies which do not make public when they are the subjects of data breach. The last aspect discussed in the paper is about personal experiences regarding identity theft and online protection against it.

Reference
International Business, T. (2011). Sony PSN Hacked again, 100,000 Yen Stolen. International Business Times.