JAPAN/FILE: Sony Corp vexes users with a massive data breach of 77 million user accounts in its video game online network

Record ID: 451796

  • Title: JAPAN/FILE: Sony Corp vexes users with a massive data breach of 77 million user accounts in its video game online network
  • Date: 28th April 2011
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SONY CORP'S TOKYO HEADQUARTERS "SONY" LOGO JAPANESE FLAG
  • Embargoed: 13th May 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Science / Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVABWJQDYY1OQ8QZHW9OJL1DPD2I
  • Story Text: Sony Corp suffered a massive breach of 77 million user accounts in its video game online network in what is one of the largest-ever Internet security break-ins.
    Sony said it learned of the breach in its PlayStation Network on April 19, prompting it to shut down the network immediately. Sony did not tell the public until Tuesday (April 26), hours after it launched its new tablet computers in Japan.
    An "illegal and unauthorized person" obtained people's names, addresses, email address, birth dates, usernames, passwords, logins, security questions and more, Sony said on its U.S. PlayStation blog on Tuesday.
    Sony said it saw no evidence credit card numbers were stolen, but warned users it could not rule out the possibility.
    With Japan struggling with aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, followed by a crisis at its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japanese users of the online game network were vexed to have another trouble.
    "I'm embarrassed. Overlapped with the earthquake, it just adds anxiety on us," said 27-year-old user of Playstation Network, Yuta Hoshino.
    A Sony spokesman said it took "several days of forensic investigation" after learning of the breach before the company knew consumers' data had been compromised.
    Some criticized Sony's belated notice to its users.
    "They've investigated the data breach for a week, and that's fine. But they could do that after they announce the user such a breach had happened so that users can take their own precautionary actions, such as reducing their uses of the service," said 20-year-old Makoto Dozo, who said he access the network to play games almost everyday since the service was first launched five years ago.
    Sony's Playstation Network is an online community that offers online games, chats, and web surfing. Countless users join regular tournaments or keep in touch with fellow enthusiasts on the network.
    The electronics conglomerate is the latest Japanese company to come under fire for not disclosing bad news quickly. Tokyo Electric Power Co was criticised for how it handled the nuclear crisis after the March 11 earthquake. Last year, Toyota Motor Corp was slammed for being less than forthright about problems over a massive vehicle recall.
    The breach is a major setback for the Japanese electronics maker. Although video game hardware and software sales have declined globally, the PlayStation franchise has been a steady seller and remains a flagship product for Sony.
    Sony intends to use PlayStation games to lure consumers to buy its first tablet computers, which the company said on Tuesday (April 26) it will release later this year to compete against Apple Inc's iPad and overtake Samsung Electronics to become No. 2 in the burgeoning market.
    Shares of Sony rose 0.5 percent in Tokyo to 2,421 yen, underperforming a 1.5 percent rise in the benchmark Nikkei 225.
    Sony said it could restore some of the network's services within a week.
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