Sony was hit hard last year with a ruthless series of hacker threats and attacks that compromised sensitive user information, stirred up lawsuits, and inconvenienced innocuous gamers with constant updates and blocked access to the PlayStation Network service.
The company refuses to let such dangerous security breaches happen again. In a recent interview, Brett Wahlin, chief security officer at Sony, discussed the new plans and tactics that are in place should another hacker attempt be made. Instead of looking outward, Sony is keeping a close watch on its staff members across the globe.
"If we detect unusual activity, it may be that someone's been owned by a Trojan that we don’t know about, and we can stop data flying out the door," Wahlin said.
Employees at various divisions worldwide hold the key to important systems, and that access could turn unassuming workers into targets for hackers.
"The types of attacks we see are by groups with social agendas," Wahlin explained. "The methods they use aren’t the same as the state-sponsored guys," he said. "At Sony, we are modifying our programs to deal less with state-sponsored [attacks] and more with socially-motivated hackers."
Sony will use what they're calling "social engineering psychology with data analytics" to seek out vulnerabilities in security, suspicious activity, and other potential problems. They also hope to track customer-buying habits to safeguard against fraudulent purchases, keeping users and their bank accounts safe.
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