Sony PlayStation Network Down: PSN Breach Press Conference (Live Blog)

With the Sony PlayStation Network down since April 20th, many gamers have become restless. In many cases "silence is golden," but in the case of the electronics company, no answers were causing customers to get hostile.

A live press conference was held at 2 p.m. Tokyo time on Sunday, which was 1 a.m. EST. At the press conference were CEO and Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai, VP Shinji Hasejima, and Senior VP Shiro Kambe. The matter at hand was the recent Qriocity and Sony PSN intrusion. Hirai started off with extended apologies for all of those who were inconvenienced by the issue.

Sony reported that their stored data is housed at AT&T's server center in California. On April 20th, they were alerted to unusual activity on their server. They discovered unauthorized access between April 17th and 19th, so on April 20th, US time, they temporarily turned off the servers to ensure consumer security.

Sony and its investigators were able to determine a skilled cyber hacker had broken into their server and covered their tracks. They brought in various US security firms to help gather information for their investigation. Name, address, email, date of birth, PlayStation gender, log-in IDs, and passwords were among the data compromised.

There is no evidence that credit card info was taken, but Sony advised customers to remain vigilant. They have determined that credit card info was not compromised. They noted that monitoring this situation will be a top priority. The Sony company has also asked the US to help investigate the criminal behind this cyber hacking.

To protect against this problem in the future, they are using new automated software and configuration management, enhanced levels of data enhancement and encryption, enhanced ability to detect any unusual activities, and the implementation of additional firewalls. They have also created a new chief information security officer for Sony Corporation in response to this issue.

There will be a PS3 system update for all users, which will require all users to change their passwords for log-in once the system resumes. The password can only be changed on the same PS3 the account was created or through a validated email confirmation.

Sony is also asking that customers remain vigilant and check their credit card statements for any unusual charges. Customers can also check out their purchase history through the PlayStation support service.

Sony will also consider re-issue of new credit cards for any affected customers if they wish to do so. They will also provide a complimentary offer in enrolling in identity theft protection services. Sony will also roll out a welcome back program for global customers with selected content for free download. All customers will get a free 30-day trial in PlayStation Plus.

This is the latest updated information from the 2 p.m. Tokyo time Sony press conference regarding the Playstation Network down time and security breach. Check the comments field below as more information from Sony's live press conference in Tokyo becomes available. Also see the Playstation blog for further updates on this situation.

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