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Sony fined for PSN outage

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Hey! Remember the year before last, when Sony’s PSN was taken down after a string of hacks that left 77 million people’s personal data compromised? I’d nearly forgotten the whole thing, and had assumed people were over it by now. It’s back in the news though, because Sony’s being fined by the UK’s Information Commissioners Office – who say it’s “The most serious breach” they’ve ever had to deal with.

They’re demanding that Sony fork over £250,000 – though I’m not exactly sure who exactly this money’s going to be going to.

“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. In this case that just didn’t happen, and when the database was targeted – albeit in a determined criminal attack – the security measures in place were simply not good enough,” says David Smith, Deputy Commissioner and Director of Data Protection.

“There’s no disguising that this is a business that should have known better. It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe.

Seeing that beyond not being able to play games, nobody was really affected by the breaches I think this fine is a little ridiculous. there have, to mind, been no actual instances of fraud or identity theft as a result of the hacks. Yes, Sony should have known better and they’ve significantly increased their security measure since – and I think we should all just get on with it.

Sony doesn’t agree with the fine either – and has issued a statement saying that they intend to appeal the unappealing fine.

“Sony Computer Entertainment Europe strongly disagrees with the ICO’s ruling and is planning an appeal.

“SCEE notes, however, that the ICO recognises Sony was the victim of “a focused and determined criminal attack,” that “there is no evidence that encrypted payment card details were accessed,” and that “personal data is unlikely to have been used for fraudulent purposes” following the attack on the PlayStation Network.

“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 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.”

Last Updated: January 24, 2013

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