SONY SAYS IT HAS discovered a security breach affecting 8,500 user accounts in a music entertainment website in Greece that comes on the heels of a hacker attack that forced its flagship gaming site offline.
Sony Corp spokesman Shigenori Yoshida said today that personal data including names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses may have been stolen. Yoshida said no credit card numbers have been affected.
Sony shut the Greek website on Sunday and is investigating the attack. Yoshida could not provide further details.
Sony’s “PlayStation Network” system was hacked last month, affecting more than 100 million online accounts worldwide and forcing the company to shut down the popular online gaming service.
The Japanese maker of PlayStation 3 video game machines and Bravia flat-panel TVs has said it aims to fully restore the service by the end of May.
The massive security breach is a knock to Sony’s reputation as it struggles to overcome years of losses at its TV business and new challenges from shortages of components following Japan’s March 11 earthquake.
The company Monday said it spent 14 billion yen (€120.6 million) to cover costs that included identity theft insurance for customers, improvements to network security, free access to content, customer support and an investigation into the hacking.
Sony is forecasting a loss of $3.2 billion (€2.27bn) for the fiscal year ended March 2011.
- AP
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