Sony are fined £250,000 by regulators over PlayStation hack
A hack attack on Sony’s Playstation Network in 2011 has cost the firm £250,000
12:15 24 January 2013
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has been fined £250,000 by regulatorsover a hacking incident which took place in April 2011. The hack on the firm’s Playstation Network led to millions of its users having their personal details revealed.
Sony are being said to have breached the Data Protection Act as personal information was leaked following the hack on Playstation Network. This is believed to have included user names, email addresses as well as passwords.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), who raised the charge against Sony, has said the incident could have been avoided. It is understood a reason for the leak could have been down to a lack of security.
Sony has disagreed with the charge and is expected to appeal against it.
A representative from Sony said: “Criminal attacks on electronic networks are a real and growing aspect of 21st century life and Sony continually works to strengthen our systems, building in multiple layers of defence and working to make our networks safe, secure and resilient.”
The spokesperson continued to say that: “The reliability of our network services and the security of our consumers’ information are of the utmost importance to us, and we are appreciative that our network services are used by even more people around the world today than at the time of the criminal attack.”
The ICO claimed that if Sony’s software was up-to-date, the situation may not have happened.
ICO Deputy Commissioner and Director of Data Protection David Smith commented on the situation: “If you are responsible for so many payment card details and log-in details, then keeping that personal data secure has to be your priority.”
As a result of the hack, PlayStation Network was unavailable to users for a short-time. In a bid to apologise to its users, entertainment giant Sony offered compensation to its gamers.
It is thought that Sony has now made changes in order to keep Playstation Network private user details safe from being hacked.