93,000 PSN ACCOUNTS LOCKED BY SONY DUE TO HACKING ATTEMPT

In addition to having to recall 1.6 million Bravia TVs, it's also been forced to temporarily lock 93,000 customers out of their PSN and Sony Online Entertainment accounts. You won't be surprised by the reason: an attempt by hackers to "test a massive set of sign-in IDs and passwords" against Sony's network database. Some of the affected accounts showed "additional activity prior to being locked" and are being investigated. On the flip-side, Sony's Chief Information Security Officer, Philip Reitinger, stressed that most of the hackers' details resulted in failed logins and in any case credit card details are not at risk. Users are being told to expect an email if they've been affected, which will contain further instructions.

SONY'S WELCOME BACK PROMOTION ENDS TODAY!

Sony’s “Welcome Back” promotion, billed as an attempt by the company to win back disaffected gamers after the PlayStation Network hack and subsequent month-long outage, is ending this weekend. If you haven’t downloaded your free games and content, now is the time to do it.

The PlayStation Network returned at he beginning of June to fanfare and free games from Sony for all of the gamers who had been knocked offline. Players returning to the PlayStation Network are eligible for two free games from a list that includes Dead Nation, inFAMOUS, LittleBigPlanet, Super Stardust HD, and Wipeout HD + Fury. PSP owners can select any two free games from LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Pursuit Force, and Killzone Liberation.

Additionally, PSN members have access to 30 free days of PlayStation Plus which will expire automatically, unless they sign up for a subscription account and monthly paid membership.PlayStation Plus members got 60 additional free days added to their memberships, and subscribers to the Sony Music Unlimited Service got an extra 30 days added to that service for free as well – but for both groups to get the benefit, they had to sign up through the Welcome Back program.

To be eligible for the program, PSN members have to have accounts older than the April 20th PSN hack. Gamers who have been wary of turning their PlayStation 3 consoles back on because the pace of game company hacks hasn’t slowed over the past month may want to get back online this weekend if only to grab their free games. The promotion ends on July 3rd, and gamers who haven’t redeemed their free titles by then will no longer be eligible for the promotion.

PLAYSTATION NETWORK RETURNING TO ASIA TOMORROW SAYS SONY

Good news, Asia -- the PlayStation Network is finally coming back. Today, Sony announced that it will restore its gaming network across the continent, more than a month after falling prey to a crippling data breach. The company's PSN services are already up and running across other parts of the world and, beginning tomorrow, will light up once again in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and even Japan, which had been harboring serious reservations about the network's security. Gamers in South Korea and Hong Kong, meanwhile, will have to wait a little longer before returning to normalcy, though Sony is hoping to completely resolve the issue by the end of the month. The company certainly seems eager to put this saga to bed, and for understandable reasons. The incident has already cost Sony an estimated $171 million in revenue -- not to mention the untold numbers of suddenly wary consumers.

SONY BEGINS PHASED RESTORATION OF PLAYSTATION NETWORK

After three weeks of waiting, and to many PSN users’ delight, Sony’s PlayStation Network is finally coming back. Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kazuo Hirai announced on Saturday via video that Sony will begin a phased restoration process of its PSN services. Hirai said the company has been working “around the clock” to bring he services back online.

A mandatory firmware update on PS3 consoles is required to restore PSN service. This update, v3.6.1, will require that users change their passwords, which is understandable seeing as Sony confirmed earlier this month that over 23,000 credit card numbers and bank information had been stolen. Your new password can only be changed on the same PS3 in which your account was activated, or through a validated e-mail confirmation.

Patrick Seybold, Sony’s Senior Director of Corporate Communications and Social Media, said in a blog post that the restoration process has started and some states already have access. He asked users to be patient as the restoration reaches more cities and states. You can visit Sony’s blog to see an updated map with locations in which service has been restored. It will take “several hours” to get the service back online throughout the entire U.S.

PLAYSTATION NETWORK AND QRIOCITY RESTORATION DATE MISSED, SONY BEGS FOR MORE TIME

If you'll recall, Sony held what can only be described as an emergency press event in Japan a week ago in order to issue a number of assurances about the resumption of service as it relates to the PlayStation Network and Qriocity. Seven days later, things are still as dead as they were pre-Cinco de Mayo.

This evening, the company's Senior Director of Corporate Communications Patrick Seybold punched out a quick update to let the world know that they could actually leave the house and find something else to entertain 'em, like it or not, PSN isn't coming back online today. The reason? On May 1st, Sony was apparently "unaware of the extent of the attack on Sony Online Entertainment servers," and now, it's spinning its wheels in order to restore security on the network and "ensure" that user data is safe.

Mr. Seybold seems to understand that you're overly anxious about getting back into the swing of things, and he's even going so far as to ask your trust that Sony's doing "everything [it] can" to get the lights blinking once more. Oh, and if you were planning on visiting that source link just to find the new ETA... don't. Sony's planning to update you "as soon as it can."

SONY'S PRESS CONFERENCE ABOUT THE PLAYSTATION NETWORK AND QRIOCITY OUTAGES/HACKS

Sony made quite a few promises this morning about how it intends to deal with the fallout from the PlayStation Network outage and breach when it wasn't profusely and solemnly apologizing, including improved security measures and a few token handouts of 30-day free subscriptions to PlayStation Plus and Qriocity and possibly some free software. Perhaps more importantly for you gamers, Kaz Hirai told reporters that services will resume "soon," and by the end of the week we should see some functionality return. Of course, it made those promises in Japanese, but if you want an English copy you won't have to look far, as the official PlayStation.Blog got hold of a press release with them all spelled out. Find the full document below.

SOME PLAYSTATION®NETWORK AND QRIOCITY™ SERVICES TO BE AVAILABLE THIS WEEK
Phased Global Rollout of Services to Begin Regionally; System Security Enhanced to Provide Greater Protection of Personal Information

Tokyo, May 1, 2011 – Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI, the company) announced they will shortly begin a phased restoration by region of PlayStation®Network and Qriocity™ services, beginning with gaming, music and video services to be turned on. The company also announced both a series of immediate steps to enhance security across the network and a new customer appreciation program to thank its customers for their patience and loyalty.

Following a criminal cyber-attack on the company's data-center located in San Diego, California, U.S.A., SNEI quickly turned off the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, engaged multiple expert information security firms over the course of several days and conducted an extensive audit of the system. Since then, the company has implemented a variety of new security measures to provide greater protection of personal information. SNEI and its third-party experts have conducted extensive tests to verify the security strength of the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. With these measures in place, SCE and SNEI plan to start a phased rollout by region of the services shortly. The initial phase of the rollout will include, but is not limited to, the following:

Restoration of Online game-play across the PlayStation®3 (PS3) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems
-This includes titles requiring online verification and downloaded games
Access to Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3/PSP for existing subscribers
Access to account management and password reset
Access to download un-expired Movie Rentals on PS3, PSP and MediaGo
PlayStation®Home
Friends List
Chat Functionality

Working closely with several outside security firms, the company has implemented significant security measures to further detect unauthorized activity and provide consumers with greater protection of their personal information. The company is also creating the position of Chief Information Security Officer, directly reporting to Shinji Hasejima, Chief Information Officer of Sony Corporation, to add a new position of expertise in and accountability for customer data protection and supplement existing information security personnel. The new security measures implemented include, but are not limited to, the following:
Added automated software monitoring and configuration management to help defend against new attacks
Enhanced levels of data protection and encryption
Enhanced ability to detect software intrusions within the network, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns
Implementation of additional firewalls
The company also expedited an already planned move of the system to a new data center in a different location that has been under construction and development for several months. In addition, PS3 will have a forced system software update that will require all registered PlayStation Network users to change their account passwords before being able to sign into the service. As an added layer of security, that password can only be changed on the same PS3 in which that account was activated, or through validated email confirmation, a critical step to help further protect customer data.

The company is conducting a thorough and on-going investigation and working with law enforcement to track down and prosecute those responsible for the illegal intrusion.

"This criminal act against our network had a significant impact not only on our consumers, but our entire industry. These illegal attacks obviously highlight the widespread problem with cyber-security. We take the security of our consumers' information very seriously and are committed to helping our consumers protect their personal data. In addition, the organization has worked around the clock to bring these services back online, and are doing so only after we had verified increased levels of security across our networks," said Kazuo Hirai, Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation. "Our global audience of PlayStation Network and Qriocity consumers was disrupted. We have learned lessons along the way about the valued relationship with our consumers, and to that end, we will be launching a customer appreciation program for registered consumers as a way of expressing our gratitude for their loyalty during this network downtime, as we work even harder to restore and regain their trust in us and our services."

Complimentary Offering and "Welcome Back" Appreciation Program

While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, the company is committed to helping its customers protect their personal data and will provide a complimentary offering to assist users in enrolling in identity theft protection services and/or similar programs. The implementation will be at a local level and further details will be made available shortly in each region.

The company will also rollout the PlayStation Network and Qriocity "Welcome Back" program, to be offered worldwide, which will be tailored to specific markets to provide our consumers with a selection of service options and premium content as an expression of the company's appreciation for their patience, support and continued loyalty.

Central components of the "Welcome Back" program will include:

Each territory will be offering selected PlayStation entertainment content for free download.Specific details of this content will be announced in each region soon.

All existing PlayStation Network customers will be provided with 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus premium service. Current members of PlayStation Plus will receive 30 days free service.

Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity subscribers (in countries where the service is available) will receive 30 days free service.

Additional "Welcome Back" entertainment and service offerings will be rolled out over the coming weeks as the company returns the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services to the quality standard users have grown to enjoy and strive to exceed those exceptions.

SNEI will continue to reinforce and verify security for transactions before resuming the PlayStation®Store and other Qriocity operations, scheduled for this month.

For more information about the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services intrusion and restoration, please visit http://blog.us.playstation.com. or http://blog.eu.playstation.com/

SONY SAYS IT MAY HAVE "SOME" PSN/QRIOCITY SERVICES UP NEXT WEEK

As the PlayStation Network / Qriocity outage stretches into its second week, over on the PlayStation Blog rep Patrick Seybold has just posted an updated Q&A based on the inquiries of concerned users. Beyond the security of our personal information, the most important question is when service might be restored and he reiterates Sony expects to have "some services" up and running within a week from yesterday.

When it comes to the most important personal information like credit card numbers, there are assurances that the credit card database was encrypted and there is no evidence anything was taken, but that's a possibility that still cannot be ruled out completely. To keep things secure, Gamasutra reports game developers are getting new SDKs with updated security features as well. When the service comes back up, expect a mandatory system update that requires a new password before getting back to your Mortal Kombat or Portal 2-related plans.

PLAYSTATION NETWORK HACKED, PERSONAL INFORMATION STOLEN

On Tuesday, Sony issued an update explaining the recent PlayStation Network and Qriocity outages. The company said it has discovered that between April 17th and April 19th, someone broke into its network and stole user information. In an effort to stop the security breach, Sony temporarily killed access to its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, hired a security firm to investigate, and started beefing up its security measures. However, the leaked information may be alarming to PlayStation network users. Here’s part of Sony’s statement:

We believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained.

Sony said that it doesn’t think credit card data was taken, but that it will not rule out the possibility, and says that it’s possible credit card numbers – excluding the security codes – may have been obtained by the intruders. The firm advises that its customers “remain vigilant” by closely monitoring credit statements. Sony says the services will be reactivated as soon as possible and that customers can dial 1-800-345-7669 with any questions.

SONY SHUTS DOWN PLAYSTATION NETWORK INDEFINETLY

On Monday, the Japanese electronics giant said it is keeping its PlayStation Network videogame service offline indefinitely following a hacking attack it now says may have compromised user’s information.

To ensure the network’s integrity, Sony said it is currently rebuilding the service, which connects more than 75 million PlayStation customers over the Internet, letting them play videogames and chat together. “This is a time intensive process and we’re working to get them back online quickly,” Sony spokesman Patrick Seybold said in a blog post.

Sony is still investigating the “external intrusion” that forced the electronics giant to shut down its network last Wednesday. In an email, the company also said it is also trying to figure out if any personal information, such as credit card numbers, may have been compromised in the attack.

THREE DAY PLAYSTATION NETWORK OUTAGE CAUSED BY "EXTERNAL INTRUSION"

It started on a quiet Wednesday night, with PlayStation gamers finding their Network unresponsive to their login attempts, and now continues well into its third day. Sony has now finally shed some light on the problems it's been having with PSN and, to nobody's surprise, the culprit for its troubles has been identified as "an external intrusion." The current downtime for PSN is the second of its kind this month, with the Anonymous group of online crusaders claiming responsibility for the first. Sony now intends to keep both PSN and its Qriocity music streaming service offline until it can pinpoint the vulnerability that has been exploited and put a stop to it.