UPDATE 2: I've successfully logged back into PSN, upon resetting my password. Have you?
UPDATE: Sony's informative restoration map will also reflect Canada going back online, Sony tells me.
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By the end of the night, important pieces of PlayStation Network should be back online in the United States. This coincides with a region-by-region rollout of select PSN services, with the entire network expected to be back online worldwide by the end of the month. PlayStation executive Kaz Hirai appeared in a video published on the PlayStation Blog just moments ago, where he detailed Sony's process.
"I'd like to send my sincere apologies for the inconvenience the service outage has caused you," said Hirai, with classy music playing in the background, "and want to thank you for all the patience that you've shown as we've worked through this restoration process. Since the attacks on our networks, we've been working around the clock to bring game and media services back online."
It's been three weeks since PSN went down, and it would be several days before Sony began detailing what happened and how 77 million PSN accounts were compromised in the process. Even developers have begun voicing their frustration, as a downed PSN impacted the ability to test multiplayer games.
As PSN begins coming back online in America specifically, Sony will be updating a map. It's a clever and informative idea. You'll want to keep an eye on this page on the PlayStation Blog as it updates. Several readers have asked if Canada will be represented on that map, and Sony is checking for me.
== TEASER ==
"We know you've invested in Sony and the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services and we will do everything we can to regain your trust and confidence," said Hirai. "We also know that actions speak louder than words."
Hirai outlined additions to PSN's internal security to protect against future attacks: advanced security technology, increased levels of encryption, additional firewalls and an early warning detection system.
"I wish I could tell you that technology's available to completely protect any company against cyber attack," he said, "but unfortunately, the threat of cyber crime and data theft will continue to plague networks, companies, government agencies and consumers around the world for some time to come."
Sony is offering identify theft services to customers in regions where it's available. Sony has admitted up to 10 million credit cards stored in PSN's database were potentially exposed to the hackers before PSN went down, but there has been no proof of widespread credit card fraud in the weeks since. The lack of information has inspired criticism, as has the nearly month of downtime. Hirai appears to be well aware.
"We know even the most loyal customers have been frustrated by this process and are anxious to use their Sony products and services again," he concluded. "I wish we could have restored the network services faster, but these attacks were serious and sophisticated and it simply took time to install and test the new security measures across our entire system. We felt that we owed it to you to fully verify the security of the networks before restoring our services."