Post Vita Launch VViP Hackers Target Unofficial Sony Site

Team VViP Hackers have attacked an unofficial Australian Vaio laptop sites, defacing its frontpage.

The hackers targeted the unofficial Sony site on Wednesday replacing its frontpage with VViP's logo and a message claiming responsibility for the attack.

VViP announced the attack on its Facebook page, with a hacker operating under the Sykes Vvip moniker posting messages indicating they were the individual that actually mounted the attack.

The attack follows a number of intrusions on Sony's official networks. Prior to the attack on its Australian site, the Anonymous hacker s3rverexe had mounted a similar assault on the company's Pictures website. The attack was reportedly enacted to "punish" Sony for its support of the controversial U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

Before this, in April 2011 the company had suffered a major security breach on its PlayStation Network (PSN). The breach saw hackers break into the company's PSN - the network that runs the company's PlayStation 3 console and PSP and Vita handhelds - compromising the personal and billing information of as many as 100 million Sony account holders.

The company was subsequently forced to shut down the network leaving Sony console and handheld owners without its services for several weeks. VViP gave no clear reason why it chose to target Sony's Austalian laptop site. The attack immediately follows the UK release of the company's Vita handheld.