PlayStation Network back online this week; no evidence credit card details stolen - Sony

UPDATE: Second Sony network hacked, details of 12,700 credit cards stolen

Sony has swung into full damage control mode over its 10-day long PlayStation Network outage which, along with Amazon's hosted services glitch, made it a horror week for cloud computing.

At a press conference in Tokyo this afternoon, Sony gaming division head Kazuo HiraiKazuo Hirai announced that:

• There is still no evidence PlayStation Network (PSN) credit card data was obtained, but it cannot be ruled out
• There is a high probability that personal information was taken, including usernames, passwords in encrypted form, names, addresses, birthdates and email addresses
• Some PlayStation Network gaming services will come back online this week, with full service (including music, TV and movie downloads) resuming "mid May"
• The security breach, which prompted Sony to take the network offline, was the result of a "criminal cyber-attack" on a San Diego data centre
• Selected software will be available under a welcome back programme
• Sony would create a Chief Information Security Officer position in response to hack
• Sony has called in the FBI to help investigate network intrusion

Many PlayStation enthusiasts wanted to know what day service would resume in their region, but no specific timetable was offered.

The news comes from Tokyo-based journalist Martyn Williams, who has been reporting live from the event.

The attack, which occured 10 days ago, affected 77 million PlayStation network worldwide (New Zealand has around 325,000 owners of PSN-capable devices).

Internal Affairs has warned affected New Zealanders' that the stolen names, addresses, birth dates and more could land in the hands of spammers and other internet scammers. The Privacy Commissioner and police have also issued warnings. People should approach their bank if worried their credit card has been compromised.

In the US, where the attack occured, the FBI and Homeland Security are among agencies invesigating.

Game over?
Earlier this year, Mr Hirai was regarded as top of the list to take over Sony then the company's current global chief executive - the Welsh-born, US citizen Harold Stringer - retires.

But now the gaming division head's prospects have been coloured by the bad publicity, Sony's tumbling share price since the outage began, and questions about why it took six days before customers were told the reason for the network being taken offline.

RAW DATA: Read Sony's press release here.