I was going to reply with a comment about how this group is scum, that their "hacking skills" are beginner at best and they are just attention whores.
Then I found this:
http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/c...needs_to_stop/
That's a pretty good summary of this pathetic group. Their "hacking" involves simple SQL injections or exploiting known issues. And as we found out today, congratulations - they can DDoS. Now gamers are beginning to see this group doesn't give a shit about anyone, they didn't target Sony to make them pay, they just do whatever they can for no reason at all.
And how much do you wanna bet that what they've released represents a mere 1% of the time they've invested. They are going for quantity over quality, they are not uncovering new flaws, they are just using simple attacks and banking on getting lucky.
Sure, websites should be encrypting your passwords and securing your data, but remember - it was still the "hackers" that actually revealed your information. If you leave your door unlocked by accident, and someone comes in and steals your stuff, do you blame yourself and say "well, they had every right to take it." No, you file a police report and hope the dirtbag gets caught. These morons could be doing what a lot of good groups do and reveal what they know to the company in private. While they still technically "hacked" the site, they are protecting you from groups that would steal the information for personal gain. Then you have lulzsec who just wants to post all of your private data to the public and make you pay for no reason. The consumer gets hurt and they did nothing wrong.