Sony Resuming PlayStation Network

[nsane.forums]

Sony will begin a phased resumption of its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services on Sunday, more than three weeks after a cyber attack that resulted in the loss of personal information on more than 100 million customers. The two services will initially be available for users in North America (where the service could resume late Saturday), Europe, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. Service in Japan and Asia will return at a later time yet to be announced.

First services to return will be online gaming, playback of already rented video, "Music Unlimited" online audio streaming, access to third-party services like Netflix and Hulu, PlayStation Home and friends features such as chat. Full service is expected to resume by the end of May.

Users Must Change Passwords

PlayStation users will be prompted to download a software update when they first connect to the network. The version 3.61 update will ask users to change their password. Once changed, users will be able to sign in to their accounts.

The login password for each account was among the data stolen when an unknown hacker or hackers attacked Sony's San Diego data center on April 19. Other information leaked included the names and addresses for registered PlayStation Network and Qriocity users, along with their birth dates, e-mail addresses and other personal information.

Later, Sony discovered a similar attack on its Sony Online Entertainment network, which serves PC users. That service will also resume worldwide on Sunday.

The entire attack netted personal information on more than 100 million users, making it one of the largest ever known leaks of consumer data.

Three Weeks to Rebuild

Sony has spent much of the past three weeks analyzing the hack and rebuilding its network to better guard against future attacks.

The upgrades have brought "considerable enhancements to the data security, including updating and adding advanced security technologies, additional software monitoring and penetration and vulnerability testing, and increased levels of encryption and additional firewalls," Sony said in a statement. It has also added software to provide an early warning of system activity that could indicate an attack has taken place.

Throughout the period the PlayStation Network has remained offline, depriving console owners of the ability to play online.

"I can't thank you enough for your patience and support during this time," said Kaz Hirai, executive deputy president of Sony and head of its gaming division, in a statement. "We know even the most loyal customers have been frustrated by this process and are anxious to use their Sony products and services again. We are taking aggressive action at all levels to address the concerns that were raised by this incident, and are making consumer data protection a full-time, company wide commitment."

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[REX]

Sony began a gradual restoration of its PlayStation services Sunday as the company works to resume normal operations following a security breach that exposed personal details of 77 million users.

"I'd like to send my sincere regret for the inconvenience this incident has caused you, and want to thank you all for the kind patience you've shown as we worked through the restoration process," said Kazuo Hirai, the executive deputy president of Sony Corp.

"I can't thank you enough for your patience and support during this time."

PlayStation users eager to resume games

Sunday's restoration of the PlayStation Network appeared to end an outage that lasted four weeks, angered users and stained Sony's reputation among gamers.

However, the network's return was not without glitches. In an update Sunday, Sony said it had to turn off services again for about half an hour as it struggled to accommodate users.

"We're currently experiencing an extremely heavy load of password resets, and so we recently had to turn off services for approximately 30 minutes to clear the queue," wrote Sony spokesman Patrick Seybold in a blog post.

Twitter was abuzz Monday with PlayStation users excited to be back online, although others complained they were still waiting for Sony to send them their new passwords.

Sony announced this month that gamers will receive compensation for not being able to log on.

The PlayStation Network -- which allows users to play games with friends around the world and download movies and games over the Internet -- went offline on April 20 after officials learned days before that a hacker stole personal information from its 77 million users.

Sony officials did not disclose the breach until April 22.

Breach may be linked to Anonymous hacker group

Hirai said that the company is making data protection a priority.

"We are taking aggressive action at all levels to address the concerns that were raised by this incident, and are making consumer data protection a full-time, company wide commitment," he said in a statement Sunday.

The Japanese electronics company said it will start by restoring services in the Americas, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.

Restoration will be done in phases, with services expected everywhere by the end of May, the company said.

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Staff Note: Threads merged. ;)