Sony apologizers to online gamers after PlayStation hacking breach
Overall company executive vice president and Sony Computer Entertainment president, Kazuo Hirai (C), accompanied by the company executives Shiro Kambe (L) and Shinji Hasejima, bow to apologize for the massive theft of personal data from users of the company’s PlayStation Network and Qriocity online services, at a press conference at the Sony headquarters in Tokyo on May 1, 2011.
Sony executives on Sunday apologized to millions of online gamers and announced plans to overhaul the security of its PlayStation network, days after the system was hacked.
The Japanese corporation was forced to close down large parts of the PlayStation Network online gaming platform, the U.S.-based network, after it was hacked and an "illegal and unauthorized person" gained access to the personal details of 77 million users, including passwords, names, addresses and dates of birth.
Sony said Sunday it would restore the network in phases "shortly," beginning with PlayStation's gaming — including Qriocity —music and video services.
Sony's executive deputy president, Kazuo Hirai, head of Sony’s networked products division that includes the PlayStation franchise, said he was “deeply sorry for the great anxiety and trouble” inflicted on the network’s users, the Financial Times reports.
He promised to restore many of the functions on the online gaming platform by the end of this week.
The company remained unclear exactly how much if any data had been copied by the hacker before the shutdown, but said there was no evidence that customers’ credit card information had been stolen.
Shinji Hasejima, the company’s chief information officer, said credit card information was kept in a separate and more secure part of Sony’s database. “We think the chances that credit card data were taken are low,” he said, the FT reported.
Hirai said the company was working with police to track down those responsible. "This criminal act against our network had a significant impact not only on our consumers, but our entire industry," he said. "The organization has worked around the clock to bring these services back online and are doing so only after we had verified increased levels of security across our networks."
Expert information security firms had installed new security measures including technology to detect unauthorized access and unusual activity on the network as well as an automated software monitoring system to help defend against new cyber attacks, according to AAP.
PlayStation users would need to update their software and change their account passwords as the network is restored.
Once the PlayStation network was back online, users would be offered free downloads of entertainment content for 30 days, Sony said.
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