"Steam has nothing to do with the PSN outage," said the company in the statement.
Update 2: Regarding rumors Sony may have notified banks days ahead of disclosing today's revelations to the public, I have since contacted customer service representatives at both Bank of America and Chase. I personally have accounts at both financial firms and the representatives claimed to have received no information from Sony about a mass breach of credit information.
Update: For those who were asking, Sony has just confirmed to me there is currently no way to determine what password you were/are using on PSN. If you're worried at all, you should probably change your password used across the Internet.
Some users have suggested counting the number of "stars" in your saved password as a way to help determine what password you may have been using to access PSN. It's a start.
**
Sony has been frustratingly quiet about the problems afflicting PlayStation Network since the downtime started last week. Who caused the issue in the first place? When will the service be back online? More importantly, has the disruption opened up my personal information to the intruders?
One, Sony isn't talking specifics, with the latest update on the PlayStation Blog from senior director of corporate communications and social media Patrick Seybold only outlining that the company has identified "a compromise of personal information as a result of an illegal intrusion on our systems."
Two, probably within a week--at least for some parts of PSN. "We have a clear path to have PlayStation Network and Qriocity systems back online, and expect to restore some services within a week," said Seybold. "We’re working day and night to ensure it is done as quickly as possible."
Three, the answer is yes. Here's what was available to intruders: "name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID." It's also "possible" that "your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers" were included.
Unfortunately, credit card details remain a mystery. "While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility," added Seybold. "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."
== TEASER ==The continued air of "possibility" regarding how severely PSN was compromised, several work days and a full weekend after PSN initially went down, is not a particularly reassuring concept. I'd implore you to read Sony's full statement on the matter at the PlayStation Blog, as the company has complete details on what companies to contact regarding credit card fraud, should you notice any errant activity.
"We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this incident, and we regret any inconvenience," reads the end of the statement. "Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information."
Stay tuned as more developments unfold. If you notice your personal information was compromised, feel free to drop us an email or leave a comment below.
Update 2: Regarding rumors Sony may have notified banks days ahead of disclosing today's revelations to the public, I have since contacted customer service representatives at both Bank of America and Chase. I personally have accounts at both financial firms and the representatives claimed to have received no information from Sony about a mass breach of credit information.
Update: For those who were asking, Sony has just confirmed to me there is currently no way to determine what password you were/are using on PSN. If you're worried at all, you should probably change your password used across the Internet.
Some users have suggested counting the number of "stars" in your saved password as a way to help determine what password you may have been using to access PSN. It's a start.
**
Sony has been frustratingly quiet about the problems afflicting PlayStation Network since the downtime started last week. Who caused the issue in the first place? When will the service be back online? More importantly, has the disruption opened up my personal information to the intruders?
One, Sony isn't talking specifics, with the latest update on the PlayStation Blog from senior director of corporate communications and social media Patrick Seybold only outlining that the company has identified "a compromise of personal information as a result of an illegal intrusion on our systems."
Two, probably within a week--at least for some parts of PSN. "We have a clear path to have PlayStation Network and Qriocity systems back online, and expect to restore some services within a week," said Seybold. "We’re working day and night to ensure it is done as quickly as possible."
Three, the answer is yes. Here's what was available to intruders: "name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID." It's also "possible" that "your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers" were included.
Unfortunately, credit card details remain a mystery. "While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility," added Seybold. "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."
== TEASER ==The continued air of "possibility" regarding how severely PSN was compromised, several work days and a full weekend after PSN initially went down, is not a particularly reassuring concept. I'd implore you to read Sony's full statement on the matter at the PlayStation Blog, as the company has complete details on what companies to contact regarding credit card fraud, should you notice any errant activity.
"We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this incident, and we regret any inconvenience," reads the end of the statement. "Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information."
Stay tuned as more developments unfold. If you notice your personal information was compromised, feel free to drop us an email or leave a comment below.