Sony Gets Hit By Hacker Tsunami - PlayStation Network Completely Compromised

Devasting attack may be video gaming's worst disaster

AUTO CENTRAL - April 26, 2011: Sony has acknowledged that their decision to take down the PlayStation Network service is a result of a massive hacker attack. And it appears that the news is only gets worse: The hackers may have all personal information including credit card data.

Sony's PlayStation blog site states: "These malicious actions have also had an impact on your ability to enjoy the services provided by PlayStation Network and Qriocity including online gaming and online access to music, movies, sports and TV shows. We have a clear path to have PlayStation Network and Qriocity systems back online, and expect to restore some services within a week.

Whew!

One report states that the information that was definitely taken from the Network accounts is:

•Your name
•Your address (city, state, and zip)
•Country
•E-mail address
•Birthday
•PSN password and login name

Sony's advice is "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."

Further recommendations: Keep watch over all your accounts, and to be aware of your heightened risk of fraud due to the security breach. You are encouraged to be especially aware of e-mail, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Sony's spokesman said "Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email, asking for your credit card number, social security number or other personally identifiable information."

Sony has also provided a wealth of sources for data and protection against identity theft.

You may wish to visit the web site of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or reach the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect yourself from identity theft. Your state Attorney General may also have advice on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General, and the FTC. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; telephone (877) 566-7226; or www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; telephone: (888) 743-0023; or www.oag.state.md.us.

Additional information may be found at http://blog.us.playstation.com