PSN accounts hacked
Published: April 26, 2011
Hackers have stolen personal information on millions of PlayStation Network users, prompting Sony to warn users that their credit card information may have been compromised.
The personal data stolen includes users’ PlayStation Network logins and passwords as well as their birthdates, e-mail and mailing addresses, a Sony news release issued Tuesday said.
“While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility,” the news release said. “If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained.”
Tuesday’s announcement came after days of silence about why the PlayStation Network was shut down last week. Sony now says an unknown source compromised the network between April 16 and April 18, accessing users’ personal information.
The company advises all users current and former of the PlayStation Network watch out for phishing attempts, and says it is not ever going to ask for personal information. Obviously, now would be a good time to change passwords to any email accounts that were connected to your PSN account, especially if they shared the same password.
Earlier in April, the hacker group “Anonymous” – or at least parts of it – reportedly targeted PlayStation Network’s infrastructure. At the time, Sony downplayed that group’s ability to compromise the network but it was just a few weeks later that the service was broken into. Sony makes no mention of whether the two events could be related.
