Sony Online Entertainment has now confirmed that the cyber attack that forced the shut down of the Playstation Network's servers has also affected the servers for the MMO game division. In an updated post on Sony Online Station.com web site, the company admitted that during its investigation of the server attacks it has found that "hackers may have obtained personal customer information from SOE systems." That includes info about a person's name, address, phone number email, address, the person's gender, the person's login name and a "hashed" version of the person's password.
In addition to the personal info, Sony Online has also admitted that some credit card numbers may have also been taken during the cyber attack. Sony said in its press release that the numbers came "from an outdated database from 2007" that still stored "12,700 non-US customer credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates". Sony said the info did not include the card's security codes. Also Sony Online said that "10,700 direct debit records listing bank account numbers of certain customers in Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Spain may have also been obtained." The company said it is contacting the people affected by this attack. The statement added that Sony Online's main credit card server has not been breached, saying, "It is in a completely separate and secured environment."
While it seemed at first that Sony Online's MMO game servers had been spared from the cyber attacks that affected the console-based Playstation Network, Sony Online has now come to the conclusion that isn't the case. The online servers for MMO games like the Everquest series, Star Wars Galaxies, DC Universe Online and many others are now shut down with no word on when they will come back online. Sony Online says it is working "to enhance security and strengthen our network infrastructure" along with bringing in "an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full and complete investigation into what happened."
As with the Playstation Network cyber attacks, Sony Online says that its customers should keep an eye on their bank accounts and credit card numbers and keep their personal info safe. Once the Sony Online MMO servers come back online the company recommends to its customers that they should change their passwords. The press release ended with this statement: "Our teams are working around the clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information. Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is our utmost priority. "
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