Sony Shuts Down 93,000 Accounts Due to Latest Attack

14 Oct, 2011

There must be something seductive about Sony’s Playstation Network servers that keeps hackers coming back. Philip Reitinger, Sony’s recently installed Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, posted a message on the European Playstation Blog responding to the shutdown of around 93,000 accounts. The threat being that Retinger and staff had “detected attempts on Sony Entertainment Network, PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment (“Networks”) services to test a massive set of sign-in IDs and passwords against our network database.”

Such an act is usually an indication that the affected accounts were hacked, especially since most of the tests done for said accounts had mismatched password and user names. Only a fraction of the temporarily locked accounts have shown activity since being shut down, and Retinger was quick to emphasize the complete safety of any associated credit card information. Any PSN account holders affected by the lockdown will be receiving an email with links to a password reset and account re-activation process.

Why do you think Sony has become such an attractive target for hackers after the initial April breach? Does this continued aggression speak to a failure on Sony’s part, or a real threat against internet privacy? Post your reactions down below!

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