14 DAY TRIAL // After almost a week since its PlayStation Network was taken offline, Sony has now admitted that the online service was the victim of a hacker attack, and that the perpetrators might have stolen personal user data ranging from names and addresses to even credit card information.
Sony took down the PlayStation Network last Wednesday, and revealed shortly thereafter that unexpected issues have forced it to get the service offline until it fixes them.
Things became pretty serious at the end of last week, when Sony admitted that it is forced to restructure its online service, and that the offline period will be extended for at least a couple of days.
Now, after almost a week since the whole PSN outage started, Sony has admitted that it was the victim of a hacker attack, which compromised the whole network, forcing the Japanese company to take it offline before more harm could come to it.
"We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network," Sony has revealed in a formal statement.
"In response to this intrusion, we have: -Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services; -Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened; and -Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure by re-building our system to provide you with greater protection of your personal information."
According to Sony, the hackers behind the attack might have stolen personal user data including: name, address, country, email address, birth date as well as the PlayStation Network ID and password for almost all PSN users.
What's more, Sony believes that credit card information might have also been targeted by hackers: "While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility," the company stated.
Sony advises PlayStation Network users to be careful if they receive emails that ask them to reveal their PSN information, as it will surely be a phishing attempt from hackers.
The company is still working around the clock to get the online service up and running, but it still can't say for sure when PSN users are able to access it again.