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Lizard Squad Bomb Threat Diverts Sony Exec's Plane To Phoenix

As if cutting off from their games millions of users wasn't enough for the day, Forbes reports that [the] hacker collective (or individual) known as the “Lizard Squad” succeeded in taking offline many gaming services including Blizzard’s Battle.net and Sony PSN. But things took a turn from irritating DDoS attacks to another level of harassment earlier this afternoon when the group took to Twitter to announce publicly that it a believed the flight carrying Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley had explosives on board. The flight had been bound from Dallas to San Diego, but in response to the bomb threat, the plane was diverted to Phoenix.

131 comments

  1. Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Pissing off game companies is one thing. Getting the DHS involved is another entirely. They've just brought a level of hell down on themselves they are woefully unprepared to deal with.

    --
    A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
    1. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They'll be in the cells next to Ross Ulbricht, who will explain it to them.

    2. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What evidence was there that this bomb threat was even possible or credible? The real victims are the law abiding citizens.

    3. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Welcome to the next level of swatting.

    4. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Outlandish Claim? Check
      Zero Evidence? Check.
      Impossible to refute? Check.

      Yes, sir, we have a typical conspiracy theory.

    5. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by knightghost · · Score: 1

      Yea, that's almost as crazy at the NSA hacking and tracking pretty much everything and everyone. Oh wait...

    6. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

      ^^ That.

      With the piles of money that Sony stood to lose over any PR fallout resulting from another "hacking" scandal on the PSN network, regardless of the validity of said scandal, there is every reason to believe that they would use any means necessary to neutralize this threat. And, honestly, posing as the spokesperson for a loosely-affiliated group with no valid way to repudiate the incident is fecking trivial for any entity with the financial and technical resources of Sony.

      Obligatory

    7. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by argStyopa · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Agreed.
      I can't mod this + enough.
      There seems to be a sort of collective dismissal of the power of government in hacker circles, as if the fact that some faceless bureaucrat in a lowly department failing to deploy a firewall to protect trivial information, or the FBI wasting billion$ on a worthless systems upgrade, were representative of the technological competency of the whole of the US gov't.

      I doubt that's the case.

      What people fail to understand is that the government is *huge* and as easy as it is to find laughable examples of waste, abuse, and outright incompetence, that's only one end of the bell curve.

      The OTHER end has incredibly competent people, giant fat gobs of money, and a wealth of resources that beggar the imagination (ie if they need something and cannot ask for or buy it, they can resort to overt legalities like subpoenas, or not-so-legal methods like property condemnation, deportation, or IRS audits) to compel behavior in pursuit of their goals. Further, the great bulk of the US populace (ie not the very vocal 0.01% on internet chat boards) is IN FAVOR OF LAW AND ORDER, full stop, and will cheerfully volunteer cooperation to "the authorities" however they can. The US federal gov't has tremendous credibility with most of the population.

      My point is enthusiastically reiterating the OP: it's one thing to hack some nerd-gamer servers, but when you attack the infrastructure of the US (and make no mistake, that's what this was) you will come to the attention of the 'sharp, pointy' end of the bellcurve.

      Good luck with that.

      --
      -Styopa
    8. Re: Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Good point, now that one conspiracy theory has been proven correct we can safely toss all critical thinking out the window and accept every other half-wit conspiracy that appears on the internet.

    9. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Way to prove that you have no idea what constitutes a "conspiracy theory," instead opting for the popular definition embraced by the lowest common denominator of the general public. I'm sure you're proud.

    10. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The general public is the highest common denominator. Small groups of pretentious idiots living in imaginary LaLa Lands of their own Greatness are the "lowest" denominator, common or otherwise.

    11. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Type44Q · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The US federal gov't has tremendous credibility with most of the population.

      Oops. You were actually doing quite well until you screwed-up by blurting-out the above load of nonsense: as gullible and dumb as most of the population is, Uncle Sam hardly has "tremendous credibility with most of them."

    12. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by oddaddresstrap · · Score: 1

      Reminds one of the scene in Burn After Reading where Chad tries to blackmail Osbourne Cox:

      Osbourne Cox: If you ever carried out your proposed threat you would experience such a shitstorm of consequences, my friend, your empty little head would be spinning faster than the wheels of your Schwinn bicycle back there.

      Chad Feldheimer: Y-you think that's a Schwinn?

    13. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by chemicaldave · · Score: 1

      I think it's less about technical know how and more about now having the authority to issue warrants to service providers and connect the dots.

    14. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      Mind you, if you were to include mainstream media as a branch of the government (which would not be unreasonable, at least from the perspective of someone who has a good idea how things actually work), then your statement would have been a lot less inaccurate...

    15. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The multinational corporations are the citizenry now. With them, the government does indeed have credibility with them, because it's theirs. They bought it with the money you gave them up front and it's financed with the money taken from you in back (taxes).

    16. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That's assuming that they have jurisdiction. If Lizard Squad is not in the US... Well, better hope their country is on good terms with you guys and is willing to hand them over.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    17. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Zalbik · · Score: 1

      Yea, that's almost as crazy at the NSA hacking and tracking pretty much everything and everyone. Oh wait...

      I'll take "Things we actually have evidence of" for $100, Alex.

      Just because a major hacking incident by a corporate/government power occurred, doesn't mean that they all occurred.

    18. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The final category is: Circumstantial Evidence.

      People said the suspicions about NSA overreach were "crazy" for years, but all the signs were there before Snowden released hard documents. If everyone waited to be spoon-fed facts about the world around them, rather than drawing conclusions based on life experiences and circumstantial evidence, we'd still be trying to figure out that whole "fire" thing.

    19. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      elections

    20. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Zalbik · · Score: 2

      If everyone waited to be spoon-fed facts about the world around them, rather than drawing conclusions based on life experiences and circumstantial evidence, we'd still be trying to figure out that whole "fire" thing.

      Funny, I'm suspect the NSA terrorist identification manual has a very similar idea in it.

      Once we start relying on gut instinct and circumstantial evidence to determine who the bad guys are, we've gone a long way down the path of becoming the bad guys ourselves.

    21. Re: Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Whatever makes you believe that the public infrastructure was hacked? It's just as likely there was a gamer in the airport or onborad the very same flight as the Sony exec and the information necessary to make the threat seem credible was purely coincidental. Of course DHS couldn't risk the consequence of being inattentive to a tweet, since the entire US intelligence strategy is laser-focused on Total (electronic) Information Awareness to the growing exclusion of hum-Intel.

      The growing cost of security overhead is a prime factor in the collapse of empires, according to Jared Diamond. Perhaps this should become a new thread for Slashdot. You could call it Tweeting While Rome Fuses.

    22. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

      Oops. You were actually doing quite well until you screwed-up by blurting-out the above load of nonsense: as gullible and dumb as most of the population is, Uncle Sam hardly has "tremendous credibility with most of them."

      Slashdot is probably not a typical sampling of the US population and their feelings of the government, and "Credibility" doesn't necessarily mean "blind trust" or "unwavering devotion to".

      Nor do, I feel, most people view "the government" as a single, monolithic entity, even though it's often referred to as such. For example: would you say that most people feel rather differently about the NSA versus the US Postal Service? How about the National Guard versus the US Congress? The CIA versus the Census Bureau?

      In general, when the FBI or DHS goes after guys like these, I'd posit that the typical American has exactly zero problems with those efforts, and I think that's what GP was indicating.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    23. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Oh, I'd wager they're almost certainly in the US, or at least another relatively wealthy country with an extradition treaty. They're also probably a bunch of teenage males from moderately well-off families, and who have far more free time and impotent angst than good sense. Anyone living in an area with lots of real-world problems as opposed to first-world problems wouldn't bother targeting videogame companies or Sony executives.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    24. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny, I'm suspect the NSA terrorist identification manual has a very similar idea in it.

      Do you have any evidence of this?

    25. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Zalbik · · Score: 1

      No, just circumstantial evidence.

      That's it's only a suspicion, rather than "drawing conclusions based on life experiences and circumstantial evidence".

    26. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Zalbik · · Score: 1

      That's it's only a suspicion, rather than "drawing conclusions based on life experiences and circumstantial evidence".

      Damnit, I need more coffee. I keep words in my sentences. That should read:

      That's why it's only a suspicion, rather than "drawing conclusions based on life experiences and circumstantial evidence".

    27. Re: Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hah! I BET you'd like me to throw it all out the window. The NSA must be standing outside waiting to catch all of my critical thinking!

    28. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're splitting the hair mighty thin: any conclusion drawn from circumstantial evidence is only a suspicion until it's confirmed.

    29. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's assuming that they have jurisdiction. If Lizard Squad is not in the US... Well, better hope their country is on good terms with you guys and is willing to hand them over.

      This was, simply, an act of terrorism. Do you think they're safe in any country? Ok, China maybe (espically if they're in the employ of the Chinese Army, but why would the hack SOE?), Russia, probably not...anywhere else? Pfft, they'll be wearing black head bags on a slow boat to Guantanamo Bay in less than a month.

      Granted, no one got hurt, but they have pinged on the wrong radar. As was noted earlier, "Good luck with that".

    30. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who wasted karma on that? Come on... own your shame.

    31. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      Never tires. Wait.

      Always tires.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    32. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by ShaunC · · Score: 3, Interesting

      as gullible and dumb as most of the population is, Uncle Sam hardly has "tremendous credibility with most of them."

      Sure he does. You think people don't worship federal law enforcement? Look at the coverage of, say, the Boston bombing; the media and the general public were all lining up to praise any officer who was involved in that situation. Same with Sandy Hook, same with "sabu" and Anonymous, same with every story that gets publicized.

      Police abuses are currently part of the national dialogue thanks to what happened in Ferguson, MO. But it took that event, a racially charged shooting, to get national attention and wake people up. Eric Garner being choked to death by NYPD didn't really get much press. The poor child who was disfigured by a SWAT flash-bang in Georgia didn't really get much press. It's just now coming out today that LAPD left an asthmatic man to die while he begged for help, that was almost a year ago and didn't get much press.

      The population adores the federal government. The population thinks the NSA spying is all well and good and that Snowden is a traitor.

      Congress has one of the lowest approval ratings in history, and yet incumbents continue to be re-elected over and over. Yes, the population is surely gullible and dumb, but to say that Uncle Sam hardly has credibility with them is a farce. The people love their Uncle.

      --
      Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
    33. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by argStyopa · · Score: 1

      (looks at the last 13 years of US conduct in the "war" on terror)
      You think jurisdiction - or lack thereof - makes *any* substantial difference?

      Seriously?

      --
      -Styopa
    34. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by armanox · · Score: 1

      Except they've been targeting DDoS attacks by request. They've taken down (in the past couple of days) League of Legends, Battle.net, PSN, and I think they hit the XBox network earlier.

      --
      I'm starting to think GNU is the problem with "GNU/Linux" these days.
    35. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 1

      Congressional re-election is a function of the absurdly high barrier to entry.

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
    36. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 1

      The government doesn't even NEED to be all that competent, just competent *enough* to figure out where the person they need to fuck with is.

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
    37. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by steelfood · · Score: 1

      You're mixing the three branches of the Feds with the "government." The government is everything from your DMV clerk to the NSA analyst who wrote the software that's automatically reading and categorizing this.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    38. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      +2 Insightful on a trollish anon? Nice. So, this is SlashFark, now?

      +2 insightful in his identification of what a shitty conspiracy usually relies on, and why the parent fit that model.

    39. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      I think he -should- have said "The FBI has tremendous credibility with most of them."

    40. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Given that one of the first things they packeted (last week) was Eve Online, I'd lay you 50/50 odds that Lizard Squad. are based somewhere in the former Soviet Union.

    41. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The post office can and does open mail to inspect for terrorist devices such as letter bombs or anthrax, and will intercept mail at the request of law enforcement. I think postal workers have raked up a higher direct body count than nsa employees(going postal has a basis in fact). And they keep raising the cost of postage on first class mail disproportionately to bulk mail, thus making me pay more in order to subsidize junk mailers. The hours of my post office keep getting reduced forcing me to go during the work day(instead of before or after work, or Saturdays) plus they never have more than one person working the window forcing me to wait for the old lady who can't figure out that her idiot relative doesn't care how fast the grotesque handmade holiday sweater is shipped, I'm pretty sure the NSA runs 24/7 and will be quite helpful in making sure I make any appointments. upon further consideration, reading my email doesn't seem so bad, and provides further evidence that I feel very differently about the post office than the NSA.

    42. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which has zilch to do with calling in a bomb threat on a jetliner in flight... kinda the entire concept behind the post.

    43. Re:Aaaand there goes the lizard squad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Considering that he got it wrong specifically because he built the model around the comment, maybe "insightful" isn't really the best description? Nah... this is /., where anything that fits the local narrative is somehow insightful. Welcome to the other side of the birther coin; hope you like the company.

  2. False Flag? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    False Flag?

    1. Re:False Flag? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, it's all an elaborate conspiracy by Zoe Quinn to attack 4Chan. Mission accomplished.

  3. Anonymous is not amused. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It is starting to look more and more like this is FamedGod's doing, and these lizardtards are just trying to highjack the lulz.
    https://www.facebook.com/Lizar...

    1. Re:Anonymous is not amused. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting
  4. Twit....ter by Himmy32 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Looking at Lizard Squad's twitter feed they have the maturity level of about a screaming toddler. The obvious lack of thinking is painful. They see these things as just pranks and a way to make a political statement. But bomb threats and DDoS attacks are a good way to waste your prime years in prison.

    1. Re:Twit....ter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would they give security services such a wealth of information?

      I would be very surprised if they hadn't inadvertently given away some information which could be used to identify them.

    2. Re:Twit....ter by Ryanrule · · Score: 1

      stupid is as stupid does.

  5. Those Crazy Russians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Always up to no good.

  6. Poor John Smedley by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't know what's worse: being blown out of the sky with explosives or having to stay in Phoenix.

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    1. Re:Poor John Smedley by SJHillman · · Score: 4, Funny

      Having to stay in Phoenix *with a Sony exec*. It's like cramming two levels of Hell together into one Boss Level of Hell.

    2. Re:Poor John Smedley by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know what's worse: being blown out of the sky with explosives or having to stay in Phoenix.

      As someone who has lived in the Phoenix/Metro area all my life, I know the answer to that question...

      I mean, it IS August, after all.

    3. Re:Poor John Smedley by ArcadeMan · · Score: 5, Funny

      And that Boss Level of Hell won't even load because the PSN is down.

    4. Re:Poor John Smedley by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      TO be fair, WESTERN Sony execs arent nearly as bad as the old Japanese guard. IM glad Kaz Hirai (Western) is in charge of SCEI now.

      --
      Good-bye
  7. What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is that first line even English? Either it's missing an apostrophe in "games" or it needs rewording.

    1. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup - perfectly valid English, although not a typically-used syntax where I'm from (or where you're from, apparently).

    2. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      not a typically-used syntax where I'm from

      An English speaking country?

  8. They got what they wanted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    These lizardsquad chuckle heads have been DDoSing all the major game networks for the past 3 weeks. They even claimed to have DDoS fbi.gov and nsa.gov over that same time. Now they finally have the fame they were looking for all along. CNN, Forbes and the front page of /.

    1. Re:They got what they wanted by Unknown74 · · Score: 2

      Ah, but it ain't over yet! Let's just see what else they get...

    2. Re:They got what they wanted by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      Ah, but it ain't over yet! Let's just see what else they get..

      An all expenses paid, one way trip to Cuba would be my guess.

  9. What's the point of a hack like this? by timrod · · Score: 4, Funny

    I just don't get why someone would be willing to commit criminal activity like they did just to annoy some people. It's not exactly a show of skill - PSN has been a low-hanging fruit for DDoS attacks since forever - and it's clearly not making them any money. I'm sure there's also ways they could've annoyed people more without having DHS coming after them for calling in a bomb threat. If I had a DDoS-capable botnet I'd at least do something fun with it, like spam mobile email addresses with fake CNN updates purporting that Christ has risen and he's declared the Year of the Linux Desktop.

    1. Re:What's the point of a hack like this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Never wanted to steal from people, or sell them mexican viagra, so had no use for a botnet.... Until now!!

    2. Re:What's the point of a hack like this? by xmousex · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I guess anyone clever enough to do something intelligent or useful with these attacks would also be smart enough not to bother.

    3. Re:What's the point of a hack like this? by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 1

      It's a good question. I can see why PSN was originally targeted - some of Sony's behavior around then was atrocious.

      But these guys are targeting everyone.

      --
      retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
    4. Re:What's the point of a hack like this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Lizard Squad's agenda seems to be in support of ISIS.

      They left a tweet saying something like

      "Kuffar don't get to play video games until the bombing of ISIL stops"

      Which, in my opinion, is a pretty bad plan. I mean, stopping kids from playing video games won't get the army to do anything. It also seems like the lizard squad could be just a troll collective that thinks they are being funny or ironic.

      I have never felt less threatened by a group of hackers.

    5. Re:What's the point of a hack like this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a good question. I can see why PSN was originally targeted - some of Sony's behavior around then was atrocious.

      Since you seem to be well informed, can you enlighten us of the atrocious behaviour of Sony around the time of the last hack?

    6. Re:What's the point of a hack like this? by spire3661 · · Score: 2

      Other OS removal, persecution of GeoHot, attempted trampling of the 1st Amendment (regarding Geohot)

      --
      Good-bye
    7. Re:What's the point of a hack like this? by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      It's looking more and more like that was a really poorly-thought-out attempt at misdirection.

  10. The Faux News of Geekdom by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 4, Informative

    Seems quite possible that Sony just offered a lot of money to one of these script kiddies so that the authorities would be incentivised to do the corporation's dirty work.

    The offer will never materialise.

    I can't prove it, but I can say it. - Stephen Colbert

    Slashdot, where nerds forget The Law of Parsimony.

    1. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Perhaps some reading comprehension is in order. The OP didn't say they did it; they merely pointed out the possibility.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    2. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PLEASE, if you are suffering so much that you need to encourage suicide on the internet, go see a therapist. Your negativity is infectious and can be part of a larger problem that may lead to the downfall of civilization and human kind.

    3. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe he should kill himself. You know, lead by example.

    4. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps some reading comprehension is in order. The OP didn't say they did it; they merely pointed out the possibility.

      Ok, sure, and I'm not calling you a pig-fucker, but do we have any evidence you're not fucking pigs? It's a question we really should be asking, because it's a definite possibility! (/sarcasm)

      If someone is just "pointing out a possibility", they really do mean to make the accusation. They're just trying to use weasel-phrasing so they can later claim they didn't really accuse SOE of engaging in illegal criminal activities, even though that is absolutely exactly what they meant, and they and every single person who read it knows that that is exactly what they meant.

    5. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      No. They mean before juming to the conclusion that all is as it appears, consider the other very distinct possibilities.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    6. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Oligonicella · · Score: 1

      Except, of course, the distinctiveness is rather shaky instead of "very". It reads as a weasely accusation.

    7. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 0

      Seems quite possible that Sony just offered a lot of money to one of these script kiddies so that the authorities would be incentivised to do the corporation's dirty work.

      The offer will never materialise.

      I can't prove it, but I can say it. - Stephen Colbert

      Slashdot, where nerds forget The Law of Parsimony.

      Perhaps some reading comprehension is in order. The OP didn't say they did it; they merely pointed out the possibility.

      Oh well, in that case, let me point out the possibility that Elvis is still alive, that the Moon landings were a hoax filmed at a NASA's garage, that 9/11 was masterminded by the Rothschild family, the Chupacabra is related to the Yeti and Kim Kardashian, and "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" is a real, historical document.

      Hell, here is another possibility. Obama ordered the hacking and bomb threat because Benghazi. Or better yet, maybe Bush ordered Cheney to assemble a bunch of hackers back in 2007, but these hackers went rogue for lack of sex or whatever, beyond the original, official parameters of their mission, which did not include making fake bomb threats.

      It is possible. You cannot prove it to me that this is not possible.

      To borrow your own words, I am merely pointing out the possibility. Again, I cannot prove it (that the possibility is false), but I can say it (pointing it out.)

      Anything that is not mathematically provable to be impossible is, by definition, possible. But just because something is possible, it does not make it reasonable. It certainly does not imply that such thing is even noteworthy of consideration.

      Again, Law of Parsimony, or Occam's Razor or whatever you want to call it. If people want to spend brain cells in merely pointing out the possibility of really stupid, inane, batshit crazy conspiracy theories, whatever rocks their proverbial boats. They should not expect not to be called on it, though.

    8. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Perhaps some reading comprehension is in order. The OP didn't say they did it; they merely pointed out the possibility.

      Oh well, in that case, let me point out the possibility that Elvis is still alive, that the Moon landings were a hoax filmed at a NASA's garage, that 9/11 was masterminded by the Rothschild family and "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" is a real, historical document.

      Hell, here is another possibility. Obama ordered it because Benghazi. Or better yet, maybe Bush ordered Cheney to assemble a bunch of hackers back in 2007, but these hackers went rogue for lack of sex or whatever, beyond the original, official parameters of their mission, which did not include making fake bomb threats.

      It is possible. You cannot prove it to me that this is not possible.

      To borrow your own words, I am merely pointing out the possibility. Again, I cannot prove it (that the possibility is false), but I can say it (pointing it out.)

      Anything that is not mathematically provable to be impossible is, by definition, possible. But just because something is possible, it does not make it reasonable. It certainly does not imply that such thing is even noteworthy of consideration.

      Again, Law of Parsimony, or Occam's Razor or whatever you want to call it. If people want to spend brain cells in merely pointing out the possibility of really stupid, inane, batshit crazy conspiracy theories, whatever rocks their proverbial boats. They should not expect not to be called on it, though.

    9. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just so he's not a hog-fucker. 'cause that is gay.

    10. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

      No. They mean before juming to the conclusion that all is as it appears, consider the other very distinct possibilities .

      Obligatory : https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    11. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Why would I object to you pointing out those possibilities?

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    12. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

      Why would I object to you pointing out those possibilities?

      Because of a lack of common sense? Because you don't care about Occam's Razor's and rational thinking? Because you the Law of Parsimony has no place in logical/scientific thinking?

    13. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Technically speaking, that is incorrect. The OP would instead be engaging in bestiality.

    14. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
    15. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      I love that "Teach the Controversy" t-shirt line, and was curious for awhile why a teapot was one of the designs. Thanks!

    16. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      Or because I'm smart enough to read what I read, and weigh it accordingly. Is it a possibility? Of course it is a possibility. Is it the most likely explanation? Of course it isn't. Does that mean that isn't what happend? Of course it doesn't. That might very well be what happened. Your lack of understanding of Occam's Razor seems to be your downfall. The most likely explanation has nothing to do with this, and if Occam's Razor said it did, then nothing unusual or unlikely would ever happen.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
    17. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

      Or because I'm smart enough to read what I read, and weigh it accordingly. Is it a possibility? Of course it is a possibility. Is it the most likely explanation? Of course it isn't. Does that mean that isn't what happend? Of course it doesn't. That might very well be what happened. Your lack of understanding of Occam's Razor seems to be your downfall. The most likely explanation has nothing to do with this, and if Occam's Razor said it did, then nothing unusual or unlikely would ever happen.

      If you are smart enough to read what you read and weight it accordingly, then you are smart enough to dismiss that which is evidently preposterous, or in the case of the OP I originally replied to, an obvious accusation of wrong doing from Sony's part. That is not just hinting at a possibility but passing/suggesting an unfounded accusation, and for which there is no evidence but it is passed around to rile up the e-geek-masses.

      No need to weight it in in elaboration as it can be dismissed accordingly for what it is, a silly hint of a remote, unlikely possibility passed around as a juvenile act of malice.

    18. Re:The Faux News of Geekdom by Zero__Kelvin · · Score: 1

      It is not "preposterous". Sony has installed rootkits, and is a company that stands to lose a lot of money. The fact that you think it is preposterous is an indication that you lack a basic clue as to how the world works. Next you'll be telling me that it is "preposterous" to suggest that the NSA would spy on US citizens en masse, and it's "preposterous" to suggest that Julian Assange might be innocent of rape.

      --
      Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
  11. Misleading headline by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 0

    They said they've been receiving reports about a bomb on the plane, not that they put one there. They didn't make a bomb threat; they relayed one.

    1. Re:Misleading headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      yeah, the same way the maffia would tell you: "it's a nice little shop you have there, I heard something bad could happen to it, like a fire, or a bomb. Want me to check on you once in a while ? you know just to be sure you're safe and all ?"

      it's not like they would ever threaten anyone. Just relaying some hearsay and proposing some help.

    2. Re:Misleading headline by gnasher719 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They said they've been receiving reports about a bomb on the plane, not that they put one there. They didn't make a bomb threat; they relayed one.

      They better have proof that they received a bomb threat then.

    3. Re:Misleading headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, it's reasonably accurate, at least in the space of slashdot headlines. I think it's safe to assume they didn't actually receive a bomb threat and just pass it along to be nice guys. If you invented a fictitious bomb threat, guess what -- you just made a bomb threat. (And that holds legally, too. From a post below, USC Title 18: "willfully makes any threat, or maliciously conveys false information knowing the same to be false".)

    4. Re:Misleading headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mildly amusing that a few spoken words ( without the first shred of evidence mind you ) can cause so much havoc and panic that everything comes to a stop.

      Seriously ? Some lame-ass hacker wanna be group is taken seriously for a terroristic threat when their most dastardly deed up to this point is denying access to a gaming network or two ? Has all common sense been bred out of the fucking country ?

      If your five year old goes to school and tells the teacher of a bomb threat against some government official are we going to call out the SWAT teams, scramble the jets, go to Defcon II and run in little circles ? ( Wait . . . . this is the New America . . . . :| )

      Before going into a general panic, you might consider the source of the information to . . I don't know . . . MAYBE put some thought into its credibility before going into "omgtehterrorists" panic mode ?

    5. Re:Misleading headline by Zalbik · · Score: 1

      can cause so much havoc and panic that everything comes to a stop.

      A plane landed in Phoenix instead of San Diego.

      It doesn't appear that this involved "so much havoc or panic", or that "everything" depended on John Smedley reaching San Diego on time.

      If it did, my Emergency Broadcast System must be broken. They should test that thing some time!

    6. Re:Misleading headline by ADRA · · Score: 1

      Yes officer, I just yelled fire because 'someone else' did. I didn't start a panic for nefarious purposes or anything. There's only ONE place to report the threat of a bomb, and that's to authorities, not to a general public who can often knee jerk a response to a potentially real emergency without any form of organized response.

      --
      Bye!
    7. Re:Misleading headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They better have proof that they received a bomb threat then.

      Why? There is no legal need. Journalistic sources are protected.

  12. Way to taunt the Juggernaut by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Pissing off game companies is one thing. Getting the DHS involved is another entirely. They've just brought a level of hell down on themselves they are woefully unprepared to deal with.

    My thoughts exactly. These kids better find a cave or a hole on the ground somewhere near the Khyber Pass or Timbuktu. Making bomb threats/pranks? There is a whole lot of angry coming right at them right now, the likes you can only escape by being a government entity, not some stupid script kiddie.

    1. Re:Way to taunt the Juggernaut by neoritter · · Score: 2

      There's already a whole lot of angry coming at them right now, they stopped me from playing GTA V online yesterday... :O

      In all seriousness, I think the fastest way to make your hacking group completely hated is to hack gamers. Lulzsec and Anonymous to some degree, were completely despised after what they to gamers.

  13. US Code, Title 18, Part I, Chp 40 844 -Penalties by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 5, Informative

    But things took a turn from irritating DDoS attacks to another level of harassment earlier this afternoon when the group took to Twitter to announce publicly that it a believed the flight carrying Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley had explosives on board.

    From US Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 40 844 - Penalties

    (e) Whoever, through the use of the mail, telephone, telegraph, or other instrument of interstate or foreign commerce, or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, willfully makes any threat, or maliciously conveys false information knowing the same to be false, concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made, or to be made, to kill, injure, or intimidate any individual or unlawfully to damage or destroy any building, vehicle, or other real or personal property by means of fire or an explosive shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 years or fined under this title, or both.

    This is not including whatever state laws that were violated on top of Federal laws. One (well deserving) word: Darwin.

  14. Didn't just attract attention from the authorities by RedK · · Score: 2

    They also pissed off "the better man". https://twitter.com/FamedGod/s...

    --
    "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
    Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
  15. I dare ya. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I challenge squad to go after bigger fish, say, something like wargaming.net. Be careful though, piss off ruskies enough and they will show up at squads' doorsteps. The digital world is easy but the physical world can be a bitch. Let us know how it works out.

  16. Re:US Code, Title 18, Part I, Chp 40 844 -Penaltie by Casualposter · · Score: 1, Interesting

    And the little fuckers talk about their exploits like some drunken dip-shit at a bar. They've lost sympathy from one group of people that might have some for them and they've called in a federal felony level bomb threat. Someone, perhaps their own bragging, is going to rat them out for this and a few years from now, they will be drug out of their mom's basement to the glaring light of CNN while mum tearfully cries on national TV about her over weight pasty skinned stereotype and the loss of every microprocessor device in the house.

    Then the feds will hit the formerly bragging stereo type with every thing they can think up to up the charges to several hundred years in jail and the little stereotype will whine on face book and kickstarter about how the government is out to get him. Well, buddy, WE are the GOVERNMENT and WE are hoping you took metal shop in high school so that you can spend a few decades making license plates in a penitentiary. DDOSing a game is bad. Scaring hundreds of innocent people on a plane with bomb threat is way worse.

    --
    Creative Spelling Copyright (2002). May use without Persimmons
  17. The real hack by Charliemopps · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Everyone seems to think this was no big deal... it was just a DDOS and the use of a phone! etc...

    My question is: How did they know what flight Smeadly was on? That right there is the scary bit...

    1. Re:The real hack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > My question is: How did they know what flight Smeadly was on? That right there is the scary bit...

      My guess: Sony has a corporate jet just for him. Whenever it goes somewhere, he's on it. All flights are public knowledge. There are even websites dedicated to tracking them in real time.

    2. Re:The real hack by Coditor · · Score: 2

      If you read the article the information about the exec and where and when he was traveling was public, they just looked up the most likely flight he would be on and used that.

    3. Re:The real hack by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      > My question is: How did they know what flight Smeadly was on? That right there is the scary bit...

      My guess: Sony has a corporate jet just for him. Whenever it goes somewhere, he's on it. All flights are public knowledge. There are even websites dedicated to tracking them in real time.

      Nope, he was on an American Airlines flight.
      Also, I'm now reading that this is not just a DDOS attack. They actually got on the servers and covered them with ISIS flags.

    4. Re:The real hack by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      You are on Slashdot and you wonder how simple data like that was obtained? There are about a hundred ways to track a person now. Hell most people carry a tracking device on them.

      --
      Good-bye
    5. Re:The real hack by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Its pretty easy - Smeadly said he was going offline on a flight that had no wifi on twitter and that he was heading back to San Diego - he also said this on twitter. So all you have to do is figure out what convention Smeadly was at yesterday - so you know the originating city - and I'm guessing maybe there were a couple flights a day from there to SD.

      Its a guess, but its a pretty educated one.

      This is like first level private eye stuff here - people really assume everything they do is private, and then they give people clues publicly where they are without a second thought - and then it looks all hackerish like these guys have l33t skills.

    6. Re:The real hack by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 1

      I should add - people give away all kinds of important information on where they are on twitter at any given time. I mean just watch this video:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    7. Re:The real hack by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Possibly, but they also posted an image of his online boarding pass which means they did a little more than guess A to B.

  18. As an Internet Lizard, I just want to say ... by geckoFeet · · Score: 1

    ... that these are not real internet lizards, just posseurs. I suspect that GEICO jerk. He's a sell-out.

  19. A Sony RootKit on board by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Put Sony Exec on the no fly list.

  20. Stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Everytime some plinter group gives themselves a unique name, they draw attention to themselves and make it that much easier to be pinpointed...DUH!

  21. Independence Day by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 1

    What people fail to understand is that the government is *huge* and as easy as it is to find laughable examples of waste, abuse, and outright incompetence, that's only one end of the bell curve.

    "Did you really think they were spending $500 on a hammer?"

  22. self-post snafu by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

    Aggg, I replied to myself instead of replying to someone else's post.

  23. why divert? by orgelspieler · · Score: 1

    So wait... it's OK if it blows up in Phoenix, but not in San Diego? Not sure I understand the logic of rerouting the flight.

    1. Re:why divert? by Obfuscant · · Score: 1
      It is better if it blows up on the ground after all the people get off than while over southern California in the air with all on board. Thus diverting the flight to a closer airport where they can get on the ground and get all the people off sooner.

      A bomb with a timer won't know that it should blow up sooner because the airplane will land sooner. A bomb with a pressure sensor will blow up on descent either way. Pick a path that does the least harm.

  24. Smedley is however responsible... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    for most of the Sony MMO fuckups of the last decade.

    That said if they wanted to do something useful, rather than doing a bunch of immature shit like this, why didn't they for instance gain access to his email, then leak some of the more incriminating ones to the press?

    Would certainly have been more productive than the shit they chose to do, which has only hurt PSN players and probably in the near future, themselves.

    Also if they weren't just a bunch of reputation whores they'd have done the safe thing and NOT advertised what group did it. But as mentioned elsewhere, they'll have plenty of time to reflect on their 'sins' in prison.

  25. Bill, 'O Really?' of Faux News by TiggertheMad · · Score: 1

    I just read on the Internet that Sony is bribing hackers to call down drone strikes on each other. Spread the word...

    YOU CANT STOP THE SIGNAL, MAL!

    --

    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
  26. Lizard Squad Bomb by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Lizard Squad Bomb" - ? Put this one in the Headline Fail of 2014 nominations.

  27. Researchers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh, those "Researchers", what are we going to do with them?

  28. Re:Didn't just attract attention from the authorit by AbRASiON · · Score: 1

    Who is this supposed to be?