Sony’s Apology for Playstation Network Breach is Just Fun and Games

Playstation’s network issues affected many of its customers, and now Sony is deciding to make amends – but critics aren’t buying it.

Over 77 million Playsation Network customers were inconvenienced by a recent hack attack and the company’s reputation suffered publically. And it wasn’t just a matter of annoyance – this was the second largest data breach in the United States, and it has drawn the ire of not just consumers, but governmental officials as well.

Over 10 million credit cards were on file with Sony, and may have been compromised in the attack. So users will need to cancel their old credit cards and get new ones – or risk suffering further abuse.

To set matters right, Sony is offering Playstation Network customers a choice of two, free, older PS3 games from a limited pool – as well as a month’s access to premium services.

But CNET, one of the foremost technology publications, isn’t buying the public image that Sony is selling. Erica Ogg, one of its writers, said flat out: “…Considering the deficit with customers Sony has to make up, that's not enough.”

With an alienated customer-base or not, the Playstation Network will be rebooting shortly. And well-compensated or no, the response on the fan forums has been enthusiastic.

For now.

Hacking has become a large-scale threat, internationally, and one that is grossly under-reported. I know we’re just a computer rental company, but this subject is one that appeals to our editorial staff, and it’s one we follow with some aplomb. Plus, we rent out PS3s and Wiis -- so it kind of hits close to home.

So while physical threats, like terrorists and natural disasters often take the lime-light, we prefer to focus on the more insidious data-mining and network-crippling excursions.

If you don’t believe that hacking is that big of a deal, consider the time when hackers went after the NASDAQ network.

And consider when Julian Assange was detained, and the websites belonging to major companies like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Amazon were compromised.

These aren’t small fry situations by any means, but they crop up in the news one day and then are gone the next.

The Playstation Network’s failure, being so large-scale, will hopefully be one that we remember.