Sony has been fined £250,000 by the UK’s data protection watchdog for failing to ensure the safety the personal details of millions of its PlayStation Network customers.
Hackers targeted its PlayStation gaming network in April 2011 and were able to access names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth and account passwords from users. Customers’ payment card details were also at risk.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said it had imposed the large fine because the personal data of millions of customers had been compromised.
The ICO also found that:
- the attack could have been prevented if the software had been up-to-date and
- that passwords were not secure.
Following the breach, Sony has rebuilt its Network Platform to ensure that the personal information it processes is kept secure.
David Smith, Deputy Commissioner and Director of Data Protection, said:
“If you are responsible for so many payment card details and log-in details then keeping that personal data secure has to be your priority. In this case that just didn’t happen, and when the database was targeted – albeit in a determined criminal attack – the security measures in place were simply not good enough.
“There’s no disguising that this is a business that should have known better. It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe.
“The penalty we’ve issued today is clearly substantial, but we make no apologies for that. The case is one of the most serious ever reported to us. It directly affected a huge number of consumers, and at the very least put them at risk of identity theft.”