‘It’s Nuts’: Major PS5 Security Vulnerability Exposed, And We’re All At Risk

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A significant security flaw in the PlayStation Network has been discovered, and unless Sony improves its security measures, anyone could be affected.

This week, I shared a story about Colin Moriarty, the host of Sacred Symbols. He was targeted in a social engineering scam that nearly led to someone stealing his PlayStation Network account.

A new podcast featuring Moriarty’s account has revealed a serious weakness in Sony’s security system that could impact many people.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • This is not necessarily a hole in Sony’s network, and is not a hack in the traditional sense. It does not involve breaching the PSN and extracting information from a database.
  • This does not involve phishing or extracting information from users via misleading webpages or emails.
  • This is a social engineering scam which relies on the exposure of some minor personal details, such as an email address and a transaction date.

When I found out what was happening with Moriarty, my first thought was to reach out and ask if he’d ever accidentally shared something sensitive online – like a receipt number or transaction ID – on Twitter or during a stream. You never know what info might be floating around out there, so I wanted to check.

It reminded me of a story I vaguely remembered from last year about French journalist Nicolas Lellouche, and his experience was similar to this situation.

It’s surprisingly easy to take over someone’s PlayStation Network account. Hackers can do this by convincing customer support to give them access with just a small amount of personal information.

These may include:

  • A PSN username
  • An associated e-mail address
  • A transaction ID or purchase date

If that seems unfathomable to you, X (or Twitter) user PorkPoncho put it to the test.

In his report (see below), he demonstrated that he could get into his sister’s PlayStation Network account – with her okay – by giving customer support just a little information that was easy to find, like the titles of two games she bought and when she bought them.

As Moriarty points out on his podcast, this information isn’t really secret – you can figure it out just by looking at publicly available Trophy data. For instance, if someone started earning Trophies in Resident Evil Requiem on its release date, February 27th, it’s safe to assume they purchased the game that same day.

Hackers might not be able to tell if you bought a game online or in a store, but if they try enough times and get a helpful support person, they could potentially take over someone else’s account without too much difficulty.

Once hackers gain access, they can alter your email address, turn off extra security measures like two-factor authentication, and delete any passkeys you’ve set up – and there’s nothing to stop them. This means you’ll be unable to get back into your account.

Moriarty admitted on the podcast that he quickly improved his position by leveraging his contacts at Sony, something most people won’t be able to do.

Several well-known fans have also fallen victim to these scams, including a popular trophy collector named Hakoom, who permanently lost access to their account.

So, Moriarty claims he’s shared all his knowledge with Sony, and honestly, it looks like they’re really listening and taking things to heart. As a fan, that’s really encouraging to see!

It’s worrying how easily anyone can have their accounts hacked, especially since those accounts hold our precious PlayStation memories and potentially a lot of money in digital games and purchases.

I’ll contact Sony to see if it has any comment on any of this, and I’ll update if I learn more.

While we investigate, I recommend checking your social media posts to see if you accidentally shared any details about your transactions, like ID numbers or receipts. It’s best to keep that kind of information private.

I also recommend listening to the story of Moriarty, which is available now for everyone to hear. It dives deep into exactly what happened and explains why it’s important for all of us.

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2026-05-23 03:37