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Sony fined over 2011 PlayStation hack

January 24, 2013

Sony has been fined £250,000 by the data watchdog over a cyber attack breach that compromised the personal information of millions of PlayStation users.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued the penalty after it found the attack on the Sony PlayStation Network in April 2011 could have been prevented.

Sony has said it disagrees with the decision and is planning to appeal.

Personal information including customers’ payment card details, names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth and account passwords were exposed. Sony temporarily shut down the network, a system that links gamers worldwide in live play, after discovering the massive security breach.

David Smith, ICO deputy commissioner and director of data protection, said: “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.

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