Gates scholar comments on Playstation hack

  • April 28, 2011

Joseph Bonneau calls for change to law on online security.

Online security expert Joseph Bonneau [2008] has called for new legislation to make companies who lose online passwords liable for any resulting harm in the light of the huge data theft of Sony Playstation users’ details.

Joseph, a Gates scholar and former chair of the Gates Scholars Council, told the Telegraph that statements from Sony suggest that the company failed to encrypt users’ personal data, which would have rendered it unusable by hackers. “Sony bears no legal responsibility and it shows,” he stated.

Sony has admitted files of 77 million names, addresses, email addresses, birth dates, passwords and usernames have been stolen by hackers. It fears credit card details may also have been stolen.

Joseph, who is doing a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, said studies showed up to 50 per cent of passwords were reused elsewhere online because people use the same passwords for different sites. “So even if the hackers didn’t get the credit cards they might be able to access your online banking service using the data they did manage to steal,” he told The Telegraph.

 

Latest News

Climate diplomacy and just transitions: who pays for the future?

Three Gates Cambridge Scholars discussed climate diplomacy and just transition at a 25th anniversary Gates Cambridge Weekend on Saturday. The panel, chaired by Gates Cambridge Provost Eilis Ferran, covered the […]

Investigating big tech’s role in defence and surveillance

Sonia Fereidooni’s work aims to highlight the ethical dimensions of big tech’s involvement in defence and surveillance and its implications for those in conflict situations such as the current situation […]

Meaning well and doing well

Elijah Darden was brought up with a strong sense of health inequalities and an awareness that multiple approaches affect wellbeing. Through his MPhil in Population Health Sciences, he is keen […]

Politics and law impact: Gates Cambridge at 25

This month’s 25th anniversary impact feature focuses on politics and law. The last 25 years have seen major political change across the world and Gates Cambridge Scholars have been working […]