No one knows who is responsible for the massive PlayStation Network hack that has compromised over 100 million accounts, though different parties have fielded their guesses.
Sony has blamed Anonymous for taking action that contributed to the hack, while Anonymous has denied involvement. But now, according to the Financial Times, two senior members of Anonymous have admitted that members of the group were probably behind the attack.
Anonymous publicly declared its intent to target Sony after the company pursued legal action against a PlayStation 3 hacker, in an operation called "OpSony." They were able to take down Playstation.com with a denial-of-service attack. But some members of the group may have gone a step too far by breaking into the PlayStation Network to steal account information.
The FT reports that discussion of a vulnerability in the Sony network appeared in an Anonymous chatroom, according to one member, while another member said that only some Sony administrator accounts were distributed by the group, but could have been used for a larger theft later on.
“So it’s Anon’s work. But you can’t blame the whole collective for what one or two guys do. We’re a gathering of Anonymous activists, not some scary organized hacking group," he told the FT.
Sony told Congress that a file with the name "Anonymous" included the group's slogan, "we are legion. Anonymous countered by tweeting, "LET'S BE CLEAR, WE ARE LEGION, BUT IT WASN'T US. YOU ARE INCOMPETENT."
CNET reports that hackers have planned a third attack against Sony.