PlayStation Network Down Due to Intrusion

Sony says the extended PlayStation Network (PSN) downtime is caused by an intrusion into its systems which has prompted a detailed investigation.

The PlayStation Network is used by 70 million gamers, many of whom are currently infuriated after being locked out of the service for over three days.

"An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services," Patrick Seybold, Sony's senior director of corporate communications & social media, announced.

"In order to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services going forward, we turned off PlayStation Network & Qriocity services on the evening of Wednesday, April 20th," he explained.

It's not clear who is responsible for the intrusion, but whatever they did must be serious enough to keep the service down for so long, especially now during the Easter break.

When the PSN initially went offline, everyone directed their attention towards Anonymous, the hacktivist collective that attacked it in the past to protest Sony's legal actions against geohot and other PS3 hackers.

However, soon after lauching the attacks the group suspended them saying it doesn't want to hurt players. The people inside Anonymous coordinating this type of operations, have now released a statement entitled "For Once We Didn't Do It."

"While it could be the case that other Anons have acted by themselves AnonOps was not related to this incident and takes no responsiblity for it," they said.

Nevertheless, Anonymous cannot be eliminated as a suspect, especially since a Facebook account associated with the movement is posting messages suggesting its involvement.

"Take a break from online gaming for a while.....it will help your skills, your health, and your emotional levels, which by the way are a bit out of order if they are being shackled by the PSN being down. We have no qualms about our actions, even though it may affect fellow anonymous or supporters... we hope they understand the bigger picture," one such message reads.