PlayStation Network, down since April 20, will return this week, said Kazuo Hirai, the second-in-command for Sony Corp., at a news conference today in Tokyo.
When PSN comes online, PS3 users will face a mandatory system software update that also requires them to change their account passwords before they can sign into the service. That password can be changed only on the same PS3 that activated the account, or through a validated email confirmation, Sony said.
The restoration of PSN will come in a regional phased rollout. A press statement from Sony said PSNâs initial restoration will include online multiplayer for PS3 and PSP; access to account management and password reset; access to oneâs friends list, with chat functionality; access to PlayStation Home, and to the download of unexpired movie rentals and to Qriocityâs Music Unlimited service.
Sonyâs statement implied that its PlayStation Store âand other Qriocity operationsâ would be slower to come back online than PSN, returning later in May, as the company continues âto reinforce and verify securityâ for both services.
Sony has also created a new chief information officer position to oversee security in the wake of the massive data breach that exposed 77 million account holdersâ personal information. A âWelcome Backâ program offering free content to all subscribers, and a free 30-day subscription to PlayStation Plus members, will also be implemented.
Hirai outlined details of Sonyâs recovery plan today at a news conference in Japan. Regarding the âWelcome Backâ program, alluded to in âmake-goodâ promises extended by Sony Computer Entertainment earlier this week, all PlayStation Network subscribers will get a month of PlayStation Plus premium service free; existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will get their terms extended a month, free. âSelected PlayStation entertainment contentâ will also be offered for free, on a region-by-region basis, as a welcome-back inducement. The content type was not specified, only that âit will be announced in each region soon.â
Sony laid blame for the 10-day PSN outage on âa criminal cyber-attack on the companyâs data center located in San Diego.â
âThis criminal act against our network had a significant impact not only on our consumers, but our entire industry,â Hirai said in the statement. Hirai said Sony have worked around the clock to restore services, but âonly after we had verified increased levels of security across our networks.
âOur global audience of PlayStation Network and Qriocity consumers were disrupted,â Hirai said. âWe have learned lessons along the way about the valued relationship with our consumers.â
Sony said that since the April 20 blackout of its network, it hired âmultiple expert information security firmsâ to conduct âan extensive audit of the system.â Working with them, Sony said it has implemented new and greater security measures to secure personal information.
PlayStation Network has been dark since April 20. Since then, understanding of the outage has escalated from a service disruption, to a cyber-attack, to the compromising of 77 million registered usersâ information, to the possible loss of credit card numbers and anecdotal reports of fraud committed through them. It is one of the largest data breaches in history, with some estimates pegging Sonyâs resulting loss in the billions. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with the Federal Trade Commission, several state attorneys general, and now the Department of Homeland Security, as well as other governments, are also investigating.
