PSN takes sites down after log-in exploit found

Just two days after the PlayStation Network was restored after a near month-long outage, the PSN password page has apparently been exploited. According to reports, the exploit allows other users to reset your account password using only your e-mail address and date of birth. This personal data was made available to hackers during the initial PSN attack.

The issue was first reported by Nyleveia, which was contacted by an unnamed source who reportedly performed the hack on a dummy account, prompting an e-mail message confirming that the password had been changed. Similar reports on gaming forum NeoGAF show an identical situation, in which the user provided the necessary information only to receive two subsequent e-mails: one claiming that someone was attempting to change the account's password and requesting the user click on a confirmation link, and another confirming that the password had been changed.

Nyleveia’s unnamed source demoed this breach to the staff to prove that it is a real threat, and Eurogamer has also seen video evidence that corroborates with Nylevia’s claims. Nyleveia has also passed what it discovered to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Since then, a number of sites have become inaccessible for login including:

PlayStation.com

PlayStation forums

all PlayStation game titles

PlayStation Blog

Qriocity.com

Music Unlimited via the web client

site where users are directed to to reset their passwords

In a brief statement confirming that the PSN has been taken offline, Sony said, “Unfortunately this also means that those who are still trying to change their password via Playstation.com or Qriocity.com will be unable to do so for the time being. This is due to essential maintenance and at present it is unclear how long this will take.

The report comes from gaming blog Nyleveia, which posted a warning to PSN users that their passwords might not be safe and contacted Sony about it.

Another blog, Eurogamer, says it confirmed the exploit, which allows someone to reset your password by knowing your e-mail address used for the account and date of birth. That information is known to be among the data belonging to 100 million users of Sony's gaming services that was exposed between April 17 and 19 in the second-largest security breach in U.S. history.

Eurogamer says users that changed the e-mail address connected to the PSN account after PSN was restored this weekend should not be at risk.

Yesterday, speaking to a handful of reporters, Sony CEO Howard Stringer admitted that while the company had rebuilt the security for PSN during the three weeks it was unavailable, no system could be guaranteed "100 percent secure.

Anne Sinclair stands by her man:Strauss-Kahn's wife

PARIS — As Dominique Strauss-Kahn was left to spend another day behind bars in New York, a pack of would-be successors wasted little time Tuesday maneuvering for his job as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, one of the most powerful positions in global finance.

While Mr. Strauss-Kahn has not yet resigned from his position after being sent on Monday to New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail on accusations of attempted rape, European officials intensified their lobbying for another European to head the fund, citing deepening uncertainties over the continent’s debt crisis.

Since it was formed after World War II, the I.M.F. has traditionally been run by a European, while the World Bank has long been headed by an American. But for the first time, there is a genuine possibility that the I.M.F. position could go to an official from a faster-growing non-Western country, reflecting the shifting global economy.

The prize-winning, blue-eyed television interviewer first met Strauss-Kahn in 1989 at the apex of her career as a political talk-show host on French channel TFI. For years her celebrity largely eclipsed his.

She became his third wife in 1996. He is her second husband.

People who know them say they are an affectionate couple who have an easy relationship and like to vacation together with friends in their holiday home in the Moroccan town of Marrakesh.

Sinclair sacrificed her career to his, giving up her popular prime-time Sunday show -- which featured guests from President Bill Clinton to Madonna and every major French political leader -- when her husband was appointed finance minister in 1997.

Many on the center-left saw her as an ideal "first lady" if, as expected, Strauss-Kahn sought the Socialist nomination for the 2012 presidential election.

Such dreams were dashed when the managing-director of the International Monetary Fund was arrested Saturday on an Air France plane after a maid in a luxury New York hotel accused him of sexual assault. He has denied the charges.

She (Sinclair) seems to live in denial," said one long-time Strauss-Kahn acquaintance, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Born in New York in 1948, Sinclair is the grand-daughter of Paul Rosenberg, one of the most prominent art merchants of the 20th century, and daughter of Robert Schwartz, a Jewish resistance fighter during World War II.

The newspaper Liberation quoted Strauss-Kahn as saying that her fortune "has ensured I will never have to want for the rest of my life.

Anne Sinclair

Anne Sinclair (born Anne-Élise Schwartz 15 July 1948) is a US-born French television and radio interviewer who hosted one of the most popular political shows for more than thirteen years on TF1, the largest European private TV channel. She also covered the 2008 US presidential campaign for the leading French Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche and the French TV channel Canal+.

Personal life

Anne Sinclair has lived in Washington DC with her second husband, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, since November 2007. She was previously married to Hungarian-French journalist Ivan Levaï with whom she has two sons.

She travels with Strauss-Kahn occasionally as a "G20 spouse", including being invited by Elizabeth II for the G20 reception at Buckingham Palace and by Sarah Brown to 10 Downing Street for the official spouses dinner on 1 April 2009.

Early life and Education

Sinclair was born in New York to Joseph-Robert Schwartz (changed to Sinclair in 1949) and Micheline Nanette Rosenberg, French-Jewish parents who fled from Nazi persecution of Jews during World War II. She is the granddaughter of Paul Rosenberg, one of France's biggest art dealers. After completing part of her secondary schooling in the US, she went on to finish in France. She then majored in politics at the Paris Institute of Political Studies and in law at the University of Paris.

Career

Sinclair's first radio hosting job was at Europe 1, one of the leading nationwide radio networks.

Television

Between 1984 and 1997 she hosted 7/7, a weekly Sunday evening news and political show on TF1 that had one of the largest audiences in France. She became one of the most well known French journalists and conducted more than five hundred interviews over the course of the show's thirteen year run. Anne Sinclair's programme has often been compared to Larry King Live or Charlie Rose.

Every Sunday at 7 PM Anne Sinclair hosted a one hour interview with a leading French or international personality. She interviewed French presidents Francois Mitterrand and Nicolas Sarkozy as well as US president Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev, Shimon Peres, Felipe Gonzales, German chancellors Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder, Hillary Clinton, the UN Secretary General in New York during the first gulf war, and Prince Charles.

Although primarily focused on politics, her show also included celebrities such as Madonna, Sharon Stone, Paul McCartney, Woody Allen, and George Soros. She conducted interviews with French cultural figures such as Johnny Hallyday, Alain Delon, Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Bernard-Henri Levy, and Elie Wiesel.

Sinclair won four Sept d'Or, the French equivalent of the Emmy Awards.

After 7/7

In 1997 she chose to leave the show to avoid conflict of interest when her husband Dominique Strauss-Kahn became French finance minister. She then created an Internet subsidiary company for her former employer TF1 and ran it for four years before returning to journalism. In 2003 she launched a cultural radio programme called Libre Cours (Free Rein) on France Inter, the French equivalent of NPR.

She also wrote bestsellers on politics: Deux ou trois choses que je sais d'eux (Grasset, 1997) and Caméra Subjective (Grasset, 2003).

In October 2008 she launched her blog Two or three things from America which comments daily on US and international political news. It has become one of the top twelve political French blogs. She is also working on her latest book about US political life.

Maria Shriver Breaks Silence: Schwarzenegger's Love

Maria Shriver broke her silence Tuesday on her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger's admission that he fathered a child with a longtime household employee 10 years ago.

"This is a painful and heartbreaking time," said Shriver. "As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment."

They have four children together: Katherine, Christina, Patrick, and Christopher, who range in age from 14 to 21.

Schwarzenegger released a statement Monday: "After leaving the governor's office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago. I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family."

"There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry," continued the former governor of California.

As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment."

Arnold released his own shockwave-sending statement earlier today, admitting that he cheated on his wife with a longtime member of their household staff. He said that he waited until he left the office of the governor in January of this year before telling his wife.

"I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family," he said. "There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused to Maria, my children and my family.

"I ask that the media respect my wife and children through this extremely difficult time. While I deserve your attention and criticism, my family does not.?

Foley denies claims he accosted women

South Australian Police Minister Kevin Foley has hit back at claims he accosted two women before allegedly being king hit outside a city nightclub.

The claims were made by the lawyer for alleged assailant Ante Tony Grgich, 30, who is charged with assaulting Mr Foley outside a city nightclub in November last year.

Speaking in Parliament, Mr Foley strenuously denied the allegations made at the Adelaide Magistrates court on Tuesday.

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"One would be circumspect about the quality of the statements made to the court today by the person representing the person who (allegedly) hit me," he said.

It is totally untrue and I look forward to my day in court when I can say the real story."

Grgich's lawyer Martin Anders told the court Mr Foley allegedly accosted two women before the assault.

He also alleged the Premier's security police had a heavy involvement in the case.

'The matters that we're referring to are contained within signed statements from independent witnesses,' Mr Anders told AAP on Tuesday.

Premier Mike Rann defended his beleaguered police minister against calls for him to step down over a potential conflict of interest.

'It is not a conflict of interest to be bashed,' Mr Rann told Parliament.

'Every single citizen of our state ... is entitled to live peacefully without being bashed. That is not a conflict of interest, that is a crime.

Mr Foley previously said he had been assaulted after being a “good samaritan'' to a woman in distress outside Adelaide night club Marble Bar.

“I thought I would go into Waymouth St to find a taxi, was walking along and there was a woman who was distressed because a boyfriend or whoever was harassing her,'' Mr Foley said at the time.

“I stopped and asked a question if she was okay and she said, ‘Yes', and thanked me. I kept walking.''

“I didn't break my stride, and the next thing I know, I'm flat on the ground.''

Last week, charges were dropped against another man who allegedly assaulted Mr Foley in a city cocktail bar in April.

Mr Foley told ABC radio the charges had been dropped after he picked the wrong person out of a line-up.

Mr Anders said he intended to subpoena all of the police notes on the alleged April assault.

Magistrate Bill Ackland adjourned the court case until 28 June.

Telstra's copper must be in NBN deal

Telstra has agreed to let NBN Co use its pits and ducts for rollout of the National Broadband Network in NBN's currently stalled second-release sites – but full rollout of the network will have to await the delayed vote by Telstra shareholders on the Government's proposed $11 billion deal with the carrier, NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley told a parliamentary inquiry yesterday.

Work on the second-release sites was stalled last month after NBN Co indefinitely suspended construction contracts for its second-release sites, accusing all 14 tenderers of padding their tender pricing.

On the pits and ducts deal, Quigley said: "We've done a lot of preparatory work ... but we really cannot press the final go button on volume until we have that deal finalised."

He said that to proceed without the deal in place would end up costing the Government a lot more. If the deal goes ahead, he said: "We have available to us an enormous number of facilities. Huge facilities in terms of underground ducts, exchange facilities and backhaul facilities.

It is quite incredible, mind boggling really, that a government would pay a private company $9 billion to decommission a network asset but not reserve for itself, as part of the deal, the right to use as much of that network as it chose," he said.

"But that's the real world — and unless there is a change of direction on the part of the government, the Telstra/NBN deal will not simply deliver Telstra a $9 billion windfall but in addition set Telstra up to receive more billions when inevitably a future government, Liberal or Labor, seeks to redesign the network topography in a way that reduces the crippling capital cost of the fibre-to-the-home design without compromising the promise of universal very fast broadband."

Turnbull cited a technology white paper by Quigley's former employer Alcatel-Lucent that said high speeds could be delivered over a fibre-to-the-node approach, but it would cost up to 50 per cent less than a fibre-to-the-home network. Turnbull said that it is now up to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy to ensure that the copper network is included in the Telstra deal.

19 new second-release sites include Bacchus Marsh and South Morang in Victoria; inner north Brisbane, Springfield Lakes and Toowoomba in Queensland; Riverstone and Coffs Harbour in NSW; Modbury and Prospect in SA; Victoria Park, Geraldton, and Mandurah in WA; Casuarina in the Northern Territory; and Gungahlin in the ACT.

Grilled about allegations of corruption in Costa Rica during his term as a top executive at Alcatel, Quigley reiterated that he had no knowledge of what had gone on, and had never been questioned over the matter by US authorities. He apologised for having previously stated he was not responsible for operations in Costa Rica, after learning that for a period in 2001-03 he was.

Australia Central Bank Foresees Need for Higher Rates to Contain Inflation

Australian bond market was weaker after the central bank reiterated that the next direction for interest rates was up even though a time frame was not given.

At 1630 AEST on Tuesday, the June 10-year bond futures contract was trading at 94.610 (implying a yield of 5.390 per cent), down from 94.660 (5.340 per cent) on Monday.

The June three-year bond futures contract was at 94.920 (5.080 per cent), down from 94.950 (5.050 per cent).

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On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released the minutes of its May 3 board meeting that showed it still believed an interest rate rise was in the pipeline but was unclear when that would happen.

The RBA left the cash rate at 4.75 per cent in early May - a level unchanged since November 2010.

Treasury secretary of Australia said the local currency will stay elevated “for some time,” a rise the central bank signaled would help contain inflation spurred by the nation’s biggest mining-investment boom.

The Australian dollar, which is currently at record levels, can be expected to move roughly in line with the terms of trade over the longer term,” Martin Parkinson, the Treasury’s top bureaucrat, said in a speech today in Sydney, referring to a measure of export income. “It is therefore expected to also remain persistently high for some time.”

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens has kept the benchmark interest rate at 4.75 percent after seven increases in the overnight cash rate target from October 2009 to November last year, moves that contributed to a 21 percent gain in the currency in the past 12 months.

The market has forecast hourly rates of pay, excluding bonuses, to rise by 1.1 per cent for the quarter.

Mr Johnson said the data would be crucial for the outlook on inflation and interest rates.

"I think that if the wages number is high it's a problem, but even if it is not high I suspect we've got a wages problem brewing already given the weak productivity performance."

Mr Johnson said the key piece of economic data on Tuesday night AEST would be the UK inflation figures.

IMF top job goes global Fight

That could pit the fast-growing markets of Asia and Latin America against Europe.

Developing countries are seeking more influence on the world stage as their economic clout increases.

Mr Strauss-Kahn has been charged with attempted rape in New York.

European officials, however, say the debt problems in the region mean any replacement should come from Europe.

The current structure for leadership at the IMF and the World Bank is one where the former is headed by a European and the latter by an American.

"There is growing disquiet, particularly among emerging nations about this division of roles," said Jan Randolph, head of sovereign risk analysis at IHS Global Insight.

He says China could use its influence to support an emerging market candidate for the top IMF job.

He led a tripling of Fund financial resources, and carved a crucial role for it in Europe's crisis, where it has joined bailouts of Greece, Ireland and, as of Monday, Portugal.

Strauss-Kahn also helped set a new ideological tone at the Fund.

In April he said it was no longer rigidly opposed to countries using capital controls defensively -- a position that in the 1990s had angered a number of developing countries, which accused the IMF of favoring advanced economies.

He also stressed the need to consider the impact of financial adjustment policies on job creation.

"It's probably too much to say that it's a jobless recovery, but it's certainly a recovery with not enough jobs," he said of the recent turnaround of many economies.

Another key change came with the acceptance that the IMF and World Bank leadership would no longer be monopolized by, respectively, European and US officials.

For more than half of the years since 1946 French men have led the Fund.

But in recent years rising economies have expanded their voting power on the fund's board, and in recent months numerous names from developing economies have circulated for eventually replacing one or both of its leaders.

Possible successor

Although Strauss-Kahn has not officially resigned, most analysts expect that he will do so.

John Lipsky, who was named as the IMF's acting managing director, has already said he will step down in August, when his term ends.

Names of potential candidates for the top job are already being bandied about.

Singapore's finance minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, former South African finance minister Trevor Manuel and Kemal Dervis, Turkey's former minister of economic affairs are possible successor, according to former IMF official Eswar Prasad.