Sony has been forced to admit that the credit card details of up to 77 million PlayStation Network users may have been stolen, following last week’s hack attack on its servers.
PlayStation Network provides online video gaming services and allows streaming of films and music via the Internet. Until yesterday, the company had refused to comment on what is potentially one of the largest data breaches in the world.
But late last night Sony conceded that the data – including names, addresses, dates of birth, passwords and security questions and answers – had been compromised. The company added that it could not rule out the possibility that credit card data had been stolen too.
Sony has warned users to be aware of possible fraudulent emails, telephone calls and letters asking for further personal information and has advised users to change their PlayStation Network passwords as soon as the service is restored but has not said when that will be. The service has been down for seven days, sparking fury among users.
One wrote on the company’s blog: “You waited a WEEK to tell us our personal information was compromised? That should have been said last Thursday.” Meanwhile another complained: “Sony, why don’t you email all PS3/PSP owners? Not everyone reads the blog. You obviously have our email addresses since you spam us with Playstation store updates. Your poor communication here will be remembered in the future.”
Earlier this month, US firm Epsilon confirmed that millions of email addresses had been stolen in an attack on its servers, sparking warnings from UK clients including Marks & Spencer and Mothercare. However, the data stolen was limited only to email addresses.
In March, online retailer Play.com warned that customer emails and some personal information had been stolen, though the company stressed that credit card details were safe.
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