Business News
Sony says user data exposed in network hack
Apr 27, 2011, 1:48 GMT
Tokyo/San Francisco - A network breach that has knocked out Sony's online video game system also exposed users' personal data including possibly their credit card information, the company said Tuesday.
The company's US spokesman Patrick Seybold posted on a blog that the 'illegal and unauthorized intrusion' occurred between April 17 and 19, prompting the company to shut down the Playstation Network as well as the Qriocity music and video service.
Seybold said that Sony was now rebuilding the network system and had engaged an outside security firm to investigate the incident.
The network has an estimated 77 million accounts, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency, and Seybold said that the intruder gained access to their names, addresses, email address, birthdates, and PlayStation Network/Qriocity passwords and logins.
'If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained,' Seybold wrote in the blog posting Tuesday.
Sony said it expected to start restoring services within the week.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the security breach which occurred after Sony received threats from anonymous hackers for filing a lawsuit against a PlayStation 3 owner who modified his gaming console to run unauthorized programs.
The hacking group Anonymous denied it was involved in the operation. 'For once, we didn't do it,' the group said in a statement.
Shares in Sony close down 2.03 per cent in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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