Sony Apologizes For Network Breach, Aims To Resume Service
Monday, May 2nd, 2011Sony Corp. apologized for the breach of its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, and said it aims to resume the online gaming center by the end of the month after upgrading security.
Partial resumption of the services will likely occur in a week, Kazuo Hirai, Sony’s executive deputy president in charge of consumer products and network services, said in his first comments since the facility was shut down April 20. Hirai and two other officials bowed in apology at a press conference yesterday, and said the company can’t rule out credit card numbers and expiry dates having been stolen.
“We’re very sorry for causing troubles and worries to our customers,” said Hirai, the frontrunner to become chief executive officer. The company is cooperating with authorities including the Federal Bureau of Investigation to chase the intruder, he said.
“As long as there are no reports or Sony doesn’t see any evidence that the credit card database was hacked, that’s positive,” Jay Defibaugh, an a4nalyst at MF Global FXA Securities in Tokyo. “For his first real major test, Hirai held up relatively well.”
The shares rose 2.5 percent to close at 2,316 yen in Tokyo today, their first advance in six days. Last week, Sony slumped to the lowest level since July 2009 on concern the fallout will set back efforts to compete against Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in online movies and games.
Regulatory Backlash
Sony is facing a regulatory backlash over delays in warning 77 million users about possible data theft by a hacker. The company alerted customers of the security breach on April 26, six days after closing the PS Network and Qriocity video-and music-streaming services.
The company is probing the extent of the data theft and hasn’t found evidence that information on 10 million registered credit cards has been leaked, it said in a statement yesterday.
Sony hasn’t received a damage report on misuse of credit card or personal data since its data center in San Diego was attacked between April 17 and April 19, Hirai said. Security codes are believed to be safe, he said.
The company may pay the fees to reissue customer credit cards and will consider compensation to users whose cards were misused by the hackers, Hirai said. Such payments and damages to revenue from PS Network and Qriocity services during the suspension may impact Sony’s earnings, he said.
