Sony plans a goodwill package offering users complimentary downloads and 30 days of free service around the world
Three senior executives at Sony have bowed their heads to apologise for a security breach in the company's PlayStation Network that caused the loss of personal data of some 77 million accounts on the online service.
"We apologise deeply for causing great unease and trouble to our users" said Kazuo Hirai, chief of Sony Corp's PlayStation video game unit. Hirai was among the three Sony bosses who bowed for several seconds at the company's Tokyo HQ in the traditional Japanese apology.
Hirai – viewed as the likely successor to Sony boss Sir Howard Stringer – said parts of the service would be back this week and pledged that Sony would now beef up security. He and other executives acknowledged that not enough security precautions were taken. .
Hirai said the FBI and other authorities had been contacted to start an investigation into what the company called "a criminal cyber attack" at Sony's data centre in San Diego, California.
Account information for players using its PlayStation Network – including names, birth dates, email addresses and log-in information – was accessed and Sony has asked all users to change their passwords. Hirai said it has no evidence that information was stolen – including details of 10 million credit cards – but it cannot rule out the possibility.
Sony now plans a "Welcome Back" package, offering complimentary downloads and 30 days of free service around the world. "I see my work as first making sure Sony can regain the trust from our users," Hirai said.
The network, which serves both the PlayStation video game machines and Sony's Qriocity movie and music services, has been shut down since 20 April. It is a system that links gamers worldwide in live play, and also allows users to upgrade and download games and other content.
Hirai said Sony suspected it was under attack by hackers from 17 April. According to Sony, of the 77 million PlayStation Network accounts, about 36 million are in the US and elsewhere in the Americas, while 32 million are in Europe and 9 million in Asia, mostly in Japan.
Pressure is now mounting on Sony to restore services and compensate players. US lawmakers have sent a letter to Hirai demanding answers by 6 May about the security breach and Sony's response. Hirai said he would answer the questions as soon as possible.
US lawyers have already filed a lawsuit against Sony on behalf of lead plaintiff Kristopher Johns for negligent protection of personal data and failure to inform players in a timely fashion that their credit card information may have been stolen. The lawsuit seeks class-action status.
Hirai said the network problems would not hurt or delay Sony's product plans, which include a tablet device that looks like Apple's iPad, an upgrade to the PlayStation Portable and a gradual global rollout of the Qriocity service.
Hirai also denied Sony had purposely delayed releasing information about the network problems. He said the service was shut down to prevent damage, and that Sony had needed time to find out what had happened and who was responsible.