Sony blames Anonymous for data leak woes

Sony has said that the hacking group Anonymous is indirectly to blame for the data losses that have affected its customers, and may have taken a more direct role in the theft from the company's databases.

Kazuo Hirai, chairman of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said in a letter to the US Congress that the data hacking attack succeeded in penetrating Sony's security systems in part because the company was distracted by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against the company by Anonymous.

Hirai explained that, as the DDoS attack was going on, a team of hackers using advanced techniques exploited a software flaw in Sony's systems and got access to its network.

The attackers then escalated the privileges they had on the system, while deleting log files to mask their actions.

Anonymous has denied any involvement in the theft of data, but Hirai said that the attackers had deliberately left a file on its servers named 'Anonymous' containing the group's catchphrase: 'We are legion.'

"Whether those who participated in the DDoS attacks were conspirators or whether they were simply duped into providing cover for a very clever thief, we may never know," Sony's letter said.

Hirai sent the letter rather than testifying in person at the US House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Hearings, which is investigating the breach.

Sony also faces legal action from angry users over the affair.