Capping off a day that's seen his company accused of opening the door to hackers by using outdated software and not using firewalls on its thoroughly compromised PlayStation Network servers, Sony president Sir Howard Stringer has taken to the PlayStation Blog to offer a formal apology for the entire ordeal. In his open letter, Stringer says he and the company are sorry for "the inconvenience and concern caused by this attack," while also addressing what many consider a failure in not letting users know their data was stolen sooner.
"I know some believe we should have notified our customers earlier than we did. It's a fair question," he writes. "I wish we could have gotten the answers we needed sooner, but forensic analysis is a complex, time-consuming process. Hackers, after all, do their best to cover their tracks, and it took some time for our experts to find those tracks and begin to identify what personal information had -- or had not -- been taken."
On the topic of the stolen data being used by the hackers or connected parties, Stringer says that, "to date, there is no confirmed evidence any credit card or personal information has been misused, and we continue to monitor the situation closely." This comes less than an hour after Sony announced that PSN users will receive a free year of ID theft protection from Debix.
Sony says it's in the "final stages" of testing its rebuilt PSN, so hopefully that, combined with Stringer's comments, offers hope that it will get the service back online -- even in a limited form -- by next week.
Reader Comments (105)
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:35PM shinjix2 said
I love Sony and am happy to see maybe an end to this nightmare but I can't help but thought bringing up the earthquake and tsunami was kinda in bad taste and nowhere compareable to what our friends delt with over there...
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:19PM Liquidfingers said
@Duc748s
let's no forget ezio...shit he's already here isn't he?
Reply
let's no forget ezio...shit he's already here isn't he?
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:23PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said
@Liquidfingers
Of course I'm here.
They just announced my new game. I need to maintain a presence!
Reply
Of course I'm here.
They just announced my new game. I need to maintain a presence!
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:29PM Super Famicom said
@Anticrawl
Joystiq's inbox must have run out of gigs.
Reply
Joystiq's inbox must have run out of gigs.
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:33PM Liquidfingers said
@Ezio Auditore da Firenze
too bad it's your last game...mwuhahaha
Reply
too bad it's your last game...mwuhahaha
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:54PM Slayer15 said
@Anticrawl
I know how you feel. Joystiq always ignores my tips, and they are good tips. I sent them a tip about PSN being down when it first happened, and finally, hours after sending them my tip, they wrote an article about PSN being down, although they neglected to give me credit.
Reply
I know how you feel. Joystiq always ignores my tips, and they are good tips. I sent them a tip about PSN being down when it first happened, and finally, hours after sending them my tip, they wrote an article about PSN being down, although they neglected to give me credit.
Posted: May 5th 2011 11:03PM Super Famicom said
@Slayer15
You and at least 300 others submitted that tip. But I'm sure not a single Joystiq editor fired up their PS3 and noticed the problem on their own...
Yeesh!
Reply
You and at least 300 others submitted that tip. But I'm sure not a single Joystiq editor fired up their PS3 and noticed the problem on their own...
Yeesh!
Posted: May 9th 2011 1:03AM Slayer15 said
@Super Famicom I am very late with this reply, so no one will see it. I guess I was too subtle with my sarcasm. I was actually making fun of Anticrawl for bitching that no one posts his tips. I thought the joke was clear, but I have to remember this is the internet, and sarcasm doesn't get along well with it...
Reply
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:38PM bgardner said
hope Under Siege is on the psn when it comes online
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:40PM The Cole Train said
I really feel bad for Sony. You got that douche Geohot, all the natural disasters in Japan, PSN breach, and now SOE getting hacked into over like the past 6 months or so. I really feel bad for them. I wish people would stop giving them crap for it, they're doing the best they can, at least that's what I assume.
Posted: May 6th 2011 2:20AM maveric101 said
@The Cole Train
they apparently didn't have a freakin' firewall on the PSN servers. that's NOT the best they can do... at least i hope not.
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they apparently didn't have a freakin' firewall on the PSN servers. that's NOT the best they can do... at least i hope not.
Posted: May 6th 2011 3:03PM The Cole Train said
@Sh1fty Yeah, sure they had bad security but they still went through all this crap. It's gotta suck over there.
Reply
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:41PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said
Apology accepted, Sir Howard.
Though, you didn't owe me one. Stuff happens.
Now, how about we go have a pint?
Though, you didn't owe me one. Stuff happens.
Now, how about we go have a pint?
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:52PM SecondTomorrow said
@TheFirstLegionnaire
Stop trolling and go back to teabagging people in Halo.
Reply
Stop trolling and go back to teabagging people in Halo.
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:00PM blackangel209 said
@SecondTomorrow He's not really trolling. Ezio is probably the biggest Sony fanboy on Joystiq, almost to the point where I think he might actually hate the playstation and just comments for the irony.
This isn't something that Sony should just be let off the hook for and they won't be. They're already doing(or planning on) free credit monitoring for a year and some sort of reimbursement through PSN(can't remember). And then there's the lawsuits to think about. Let's all hope they get resolved quickly(most likely out of court).
I HOPE Sony has learned something from this, but really, who knows? We pretty much just have to wait and see.
Reply
This isn't something that Sony should just be let off the hook for and they won't be. They're already doing(or planning on) free credit monitoring for a year and some sort of reimbursement through PSN(can't remember). And then there's the lawsuits to think about. Let's all hope they get resolved quickly(most likely out of court).
I HOPE Sony has learned something from this, but really, who knows? We pretty much just have to wait and see.
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:05PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said
@blackangel209
I'd say it's about 70% love, and 30% enjoying how much it enrages people around here when anyone is positive about Sony.
Good times. :)
Reply
I'd say it's about 70% love, and 30% enjoying how much it enrages people around here when anyone is positive about Sony.
Good times. :)
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:09PM blackangel209 said
@Mr Esc is the namesarcasm is my I don't monitor him. I just see him in every Sony article and the level of fanboyism is pretty ridiculous.
@Ezio Personally, it doesn't make me angry. It's actually pretty funny. Was just pointing out what I've noticed.
Reply
@Ezio Personally, it doesn't make me angry. It's actually pretty funny. Was just pointing out what I've noticed.
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:22PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said
@BigEgo007
Aww, damnit.
You mean I'm doin' it wrong, bro?
Weak.
Reply
Aww, damnit.
You mean I'm doin' it wrong, bro?
Weak.
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:42PM Bumper said
Caption Contest!!!!
Press Reporter: Who farted?
Press Reporter: Who farted?
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:45PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said
@Bumper
"Alright, who had the tuna salad on rye? Was it you?"
Reply
"Alright, who had the tuna salad on rye? Was it you?"
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:47PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
@Ezio Auditore da Firenze
WTF IS THAT DUDE IN THE GUY FAWKES MASK DOING IN HERE!!?!?!?!
Reply
WTF IS THAT DUDE IN THE GUY FAWKES MASK DOING IN HERE!!?!?!?!
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:53PM MystileArmor said
@Bumper
*bumps PSN with his elbow ala the Fonz*
EEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply
*bumps PSN with his elbow ala the Fonz*
EEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:54PM oOWallaceOo said
@Bumper
The hackers entered here, in between the square and the X
Reply
The hackers entered here, in between the square and the X
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:55PM RickGhastly said
@Bumper
See that logo? sh**'s not even supposed to BE right there. They hacked that too.
Reply
See that logo? sh**'s not even supposed to BE right there. They hacked that too.
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:02PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said
@RickGhastly
This guy wins.
Died laughing.
Reply
This guy wins.
Died laughing.
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:05PM ShadowXIII said
@Bumper
(Nude guy streaking through assembly painted with 360 logo's screaming fanboy slurs)
"WTF is this sh!t?!"
Reply
(Nude guy streaking through assembly painted with 360 logo's screaming fanboy slurs)
"WTF is this sh!t?!"
Posted: May 5th 2011 10:44PM badaboompowman said
@Bumper
(geohotz just walked in the press-con room)
Get the f--- outta here!!!!
Reply
(geohotz just walked in the press-con room)
Get the f--- outta here!!!!
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:44PM SpaceFox said
They're handling it well. Everyone needs to get off Sony's ass and stop with the lawsuits and complaints. It's really not going to make things any better. They're doing everything they can to make it right.
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:45PM Gamerer said
No Problem, Howard. Been playing my PS2 in the mean time... The lalilulelo is behind this >.>
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:46PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
This is their most productive day on the blog since the service went down over 2 weeks ago.....must really going to be back up tomorrow...
**Crosses fingers**
**Crosses fingers**
Posted: May 6th 2011 1:18AM kentuckyfried said
@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi That would kick ass for my weekend!
Reply
Posted: May 5th 2011 9:49PM money shot in the face said
psn take as long as you want...looks like i have to get out the ol sega...gunstar hero that shit!







