Did Sony's Hacking Troubles Inspire Other Hacker Attacks?

It's official: Sony

is currently the

and

corporation of 2011. From the moment PlayStation Network

, Sony has been faced with a series of unexpected challenges. From the

to a potential

that was miraculously avoided, the PlayStation maker just can't get a break. No, Sony

catch a break.

. But Sony isn't the only one in trouble. Since the first attack on PlayStation Network,

,

,

,

, and a site

have experienced the wrath of cyber criminals. These are just a few of the companies that hackers have been eyeing as of late. Google

is

, as are banks and most major tech companies. Lockheed Martin

is a common target as well. Still, it's hard to ignore that the number of hacker attacks have grown tremendously in the past six weeks. While the problem could be linked to mainstream reporting trends (Sony made hacking a hot topic, inspiring journalists to search for and report on other hacker attacks), the larger media outlets have been covering this area for years. Thus, it does not appear that the number of hacker

increased – it seems as if the actual number of

increased.

While it is not yet clear why so many companies are getting hacked, the

has an interesting quote from a security expert who thinks he knows why Sony continues to be attacked. "Other hackers and hacking groups realized they could jump on the bandwagon and break into other Sony properties and get in the news," Richard Wang, the manager of a security vendor called Sophos Labs, told the Huffington Post. "Really anything that has the Sony brand on it has become a target for someone trying to make a name for themselves or trying to prove they can break into the website." His words are painfully true: if you're a hacker and fame is what you're after, hacking Sony will almost certainly get you in the news. Chances are other companies are being hacked for the same reason. While Sony might seem like an easy kill, successfully attacking a large international bank like Citigroup

could be viewed by hackers as a serious accomplishment.

More inspiration? Today it was revealed that Codemasters, a video game publisher and developer,

.