Sony shut down its PlayStation Network last week because it has discovered a "non-gaming" intrusion into the system.
However, it had not realised until late yesterday (after forensic security testing) that the breach had led to the theft of the data of the 77 million users. This data theft could compromise the financial security of the 77 million users who have registered their details with Sony.
Here is a list of FAQ's from the Sony site re the security breach:
Update on PSN Service Outages
Q.1 When did you realise the system had been intruded?
We discovered between April 17 and April 19 there was an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network.
Q.2 How did you know that the system was intruded?
We watch for any issues that may be raised with respect to security and monitor for such issues both internally and externally.
Q.3 What is the main reason to this problem? Which parts of the system were vulnerable to the intrusion?
We are currently conducting a thorough investigation of the situation. Since this is an overall security related issue, we will not comment further on this case.
Q.4 What action did you take (are you taking)? Is there any possibility of further unauthorized access?
As soon as we learned of this issue, 1) we temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services in order to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services, 2) we have also engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened, and 3) quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure by re-building our system to provide you with greater protection of your personal information.
Q.5 How many were affected? How many per each region? What is the latest status of PlayStation Network registered account/ operating countries.
Our investigation indicates that all PlayStation Network/ Qriocity accounts may have been affected.
Q.6 Does that mean all users’ information was compromised? Tell us more in details of what personal information leaked.
In terms of possibility, yes. We believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state/province, zip or postal code), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password, login, password security answers, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data may have been obtained, including purchase history and billing address (city, state/province, zip or postal code). If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, it is possible that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may also have been obtained.
Q.7 Have you notified those users?
We are sending out e-mails directly to these users to their e-mail address registered on the PS Network accounts. Also, we have posted web notices, and additional necessary procedures have been followed by each region.
Q.8 Have you received reports or claims that their PSN ID information/ credit card had been used improperly?
Not at this point in time.
Q.9 I want to know if my account has been affected.
To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports. Additionally, if you use the same user name or password for your PlayStation Network or Qriocity service account for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them. When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are back on line, we also strongly recommend that you log on to change your password.
For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, postal mail or other scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. 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. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking.
Q.10 What should I do to prevent any unauthorized use of my (credit card) personal information?
For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, postal mail or other scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. 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. If you are asked for this information, you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. Additionally, if you use the same user name or password for your PlayStation Network or Qriocity service account for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them. When the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services are back on line, we also strongly recommend that you log on to change your password.
To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports.
Q.11 Since when have PSN/Qriocity become unavailable and in which region?
PSN/Qriocity services have not been available since April 20 (US time) in all regions.
Q.12 How come it is taking so much time to resume the service?
We are taking the investigation seriously. We decided to keep the service down to allow us to conduct a thorough investigation and verify smooth operation of our network services.
Q.13 How serious is this? Have the hackers broken the security on PSN/Qriocity? Are you taking necessary measures to prevent such outage happening in the future?
Since this is an overall security related issue, we will not comment further on this case but we are working to restore and maintain the services, including countermeasures against future intrusions.
Q.14 When will the service resume?
We are taking the investigation seriously. We will keep the service down to allow us to conduct a thorough investigation and verify smooth operation of our network services but are working hard to resume the services as soon as we can be reasonably assured security concerns are addressed.
Q.15 Seems like SOE service was also not available/ suffering outage. Is this true? Is this due to the same reason as the PSN/Qriocity outage?
SOE's service is available although a service interruption due to an external attack did occur. A thorough investigation is ongoing.
Q.16 I want my money back (subscription fee, content) since the PSN/Qriocity was not available.
When the full services are restored and the length of the outage is known, we will assess the correct course of action.
Q.17 There seems to be some games that cannot be played even offline?
Depending on the game titles, but mainly PSN games, some may require access to PSN for trophy sync, security check, etc.
Contact Details
Country Customer Support
Africa sonycustomercare.mea@ap.sony.com
Australia 1-300 365-911
Austria 0820 44 45 40
Belgium 011 516 406
Bulgaria support@sbhbg.com
Croatia playstation.hr@arsvenatus.hr
Cyprus 22352282
Czech Republic 222 864 199
Denmark 90137013
Estonia 6543484
Finland 600411911
France 0820 31 32 33
Germany 01805 766 977
Greece 801 11 92000
Hungary 1 814 4800
Iceland 591- 5100
India 1800-103-7799
Ireland 0818 365065
Israel 09-9711700
Italy 199 116 266
Latvia 67046049
Lithuania 37338655
Luxembourg 0820 31 32 33
Malta 234 360 00
Middle East - All sonycustomercare.mea@ap.sony.com
Netherlands 0495 574 817
New Zealand 09 415 2447
Norway 82068322
Poland 0 801 230 000
Portugal 707 23 23 10
Romania support@sbhbg.com
Russia 8-800-200-76-67
Slovakia 232 112 209
Slovenia 1 510 31 30
South Africa 0861 773783
Spain 902 102 102
Sweden 09002033075
Switzerland 0848 84 00 85
Turkey bilgi@eu.sony.com
Ukraine 0 800 307 669
UK 0844 736 0595
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