PSN: Your Personal Information Has Been Stolen

A new information has emerged from the Playstation Blog.

Update(2): 1 million dollar guarantee ID protection is going to be offered by Sony when PSN gets back on. Also, in EU blog - they plan to give two PS3 games for free. If you have a PSP you will get two games as well.  I am not sure about North America yet of what SCEA will offer. So far these are some information out there that is legit.

Also, the May 31st date for PSN getting back online as published by Bloomberg is a rumour. Sony has officially stated that they will bring back PSN 100% working by the end of this month. However, some services will return online shortly prior to that date as they are going through final stages of security checks from three different security companies. They still have no definite time on when it will be online.

Update(1): Sony denies that the credit card information is being sold in an internet black market and also denies the rumour going on about reselling the credit card info back to Sony. Here is a quote from the official PS blog:

"We want to state this again given the increase in speculation about credit card information being used fraudulently. One report indicated that a group tried to sell millions of credit card numbers back to Sony. To my knowledge there is no truth to this report of a list, or that Sony was offered an opportunity to purchase the list."

PSN will go back online sometime this week and is planned to be fully operational by the end of this month. Expect a new firmware update for your PS3s - 3.61 after the PSN comes back on(according to Japanese PSN security update page). The patch will force you to change your password.


The FBI and U.S Homeland Security are already involved in this hacking. This is really a serious intrusion and called it an act of terrorism.


To see the official blog post :
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/05/02/playstation-network-security-update/
Japanese PSN security update page:
http://cdn.jp.playstation.com/msg/state.html
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"PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network."

That is right! Some accounts might be compromised. All information you have provided and saved within that account including your sub-account is possibly taken by the hacker. Those information that are probably taken were:

- Your full name that you have provided Sony when you registered

- PSN/Qriocity ID and password.

- Log in information for both PSN and Qriocity

- Address

- Country

- Email

Other possible information that were taken are:
- Billing address

- Purchase history

- Security questions (the questions that has to be answered correctly in order to obtain a new password or to confirm a person's identity)

According to the PS blog, your credit card information might be compromised as well. Everything that you can see from your card except the three digit security code. 

This security failure can be far more worse than what you think. These hackers can sell your information in exchange for money. They can look into your email for history of other registration for paypal and such other services like online banking. The best thing to do right now is update all your security questions, usernames, and passwords for all the online things that are connected to the email you provided Sony. You can also request for a new card from your creditors/banks. There is nothing worse than losing your hard earned money.


According to the FAQ provided by the PS blog. You will receive an email from SONY stating that your account has been compromised. However, I still suggest to change your information to the services connected to that email address you provided SONY to register for the PSN.


For complete official blog post update: 
North-America
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/04/26/update-on-playstation-network-and-qriocity/


Europe
http://uk.playstation.com/psn/news/articles/detail/item369506/PSN-Qriocity-Service-Update/