The SonyPlayStation Network is up and running once again, 26 data after it a hacker attack that resulted in the personal details of over 100 million customers being stolen.
Customers will need to apply an automatic security patch 3.61 to their PS3s and change their passwords to get access to the revamped network.
They will have access to online play, the media service Qriocity, and third-party services including Lovefilm.
Full restoration of services, such as the PSN store and purchasing through Qriocity, is scheduled for the end of May.
Now that the service is back up, Sony is attempting to make PSN “significantly more secure,” and Sony has appointed a new chief information security officer, Fumiaki Sakai, who is also president of Sony Global Solutions.
On the customer service end, Sony has planned a “Welcome Back” package that includes a free month of PlayStation Plus as well as select entertainment content for free download (details on this bit of compensation are still to come). Gamers playing select Sony titles, including DC Universe Online and Everquest, will receive a month of free playtime.
Second biggest data theft in history
Following a privacy invasion of its gaming and entertainment network, which is used by over 100 million users, Sony had suspended services of its PlayStation, Qriocity and Sony Entertainment Online services since the 20th of April.
Involving data breach and identity theft of users of these services, the attack on Sony’s online network is being touted as the second-largest theft of online personal data, the largest since the 2009 theft of credit and debit card numbers from Heartland Payment Systems.
And while Sony had initially announced a resumption of services within a week, it has taken the company more than three weeks to identify exactly why and where the breaches happened, to put in place more security measures so as to prevent such an attack from re-occurring in the future, and to come up with some form of compensation for users.
Amazon Cloud Service used in attack?
According to Bloomberg News, the attack on Sony’s online gaming and entertainment system, which compromised personal data belonging to over 100 million users, was carried out through the use of Amazon’s Elastic Computer Cloud – EC2.
The report says that the hackers signed up for the cloud-computing service, just like a legitimate company would, but using fake information, and that this account has been now shut down.
