PSN Gaming Services to Return “This Week”

Sony held a press conference in Tokyo today to provide more details about the PlayStation Network outage and their plans moving forward. There’s a lot of information of in the press release below, but the best news – for those of you eager to back online with GT5, at least – is they expect online gaming services to return “this week”.

SOME PLAYSTATION®NETWORK AND QRIOCITY™ SERVICES TO BE AVAILABLE THIS WEEK

Tokyo, May 1, 2011 – Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI, the company) announced they will shortly begin a phased restoration by region of PlayStation®Network and Qriocity™ services, beginning with gaming, music and video services to be turned on. The company also announced both a series of immediate steps to enhance security across the network and a new customer appreciation program to thank its customers for their patience and loyalty.

Following a criminal cyber-attack on the company’s data-center located in San Diego, California, U.S.A., SNEI quickly turned off the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, engaged multiple expert information security firms over the course of several days and conducted an extensive audit of the system. Since then, the company has implemented a variety of new security measures to provide greater protection of personal information. SNEI and its third-party experts have conducted extensive tests to verify the security strength of the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. With these measures in place, SCE and SNEI plan to start a phased rollout by region of the services shortly. The initial phase of the rollout will include, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Restoration of Online game-play across the PlayStation®3 (PS3) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems
    -This includes titles requiring online verification and downloaded games
  • Access to Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3/PSP for existing subscribers
  • Access to account management and password reset
  • Access to download un-expired Movie Rentals on PS3, PSP and MediaGo
  • PlayStation®Home
  • Friends List
  • Chat Functionality

Working closely with several outside security firms, the company has implemented significant security measures to further detect unauthorized activity and provide consumers with greater protection of their personal information. The company is also creating the position of Chief Information Security Officer, directly reporting to Shinji Hasejima, Chief Information Officer of Sony Corporation, to add a new position of expertise in and accountability for customer data protection and supplement existing information security personnel. The new security measures implemented include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Added automated software monitoring and configuration management to help defend against new attacks
  • Enhanced levels of data protection and encryption
  • Enhanced ability to detect software intrusions within the network, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns
  • Implementation of additional firewalls

The company also expedited an already planned move of the system to a new data center in a different location that has been under construction and development for several months. In addition, PS3 will have a forced system software update that will require all registered PlayStation Network users to change their account passwords before being able to sign into the service. As an added layer of security, that password can only be changed on the same PS3 in which that account was activated, or through validated email confirmation, a critical step to help further protect customer data.

The company is conducting a thorough and on-going investigation and working with law enforcement to track down and prosecute those responsible for the illegal intrusion.

“This criminal act against our network had a significant impact not only on our consumers, but our entire industry. These illegal attacks obviously highlight the widespread problem with cyber-security. We take the security of our consumers’ information very seriously and are committed to helping our consumers protect their personal data. In addition, the organization has worked around the clock to bring these services back online, and are doing so only after we had verified increased levels of security across our networks,” said Kazuo Hirai, Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation. “Our global audience of PlayStation Network and Qriocity consumers was disrupted. We have learned lessons along the way about the valued relationship with our consumers, and to that end, we will be launching a customer appreciation program for registered consumers as a way of expressing our gratitude for their loyalty during this network downtime, as we work even harder to restore and regain their trust in us and our services.”

Complimentary Offering and “Welcome Back” Appreciation Program
While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, the company is committed to helping its customers protect their personal data and will provide a complimentary offering to assist users in enrolling in identity theft protection services and/or similar programs. The implementation will be at a local level and further details will be made available shortly in each region.

The company will also rollout the PlayStation Network and Qriocity “Welcome Back” program, to be offered worldwide, which will be tailored to specific markets to provide our consumers with a selection of service options and premium content as an expression of the company’s appreciation for their patience, support and continued loyalty.

Central components of the “Welcome Back” program will include:

  • Each territory will be offering selected PlayStation entertainment content for free download. Specific details of this content will be announced in each region soon.
  • All existing PlayStation Network customers will be provided with 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus premium service. Current members of PlayStation Plus will receive 30 days free service.
  • Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity subscribers (in countries where the service is available) will receive 30 days free service.

Additional “Welcome Back” entertainment and service offerings will be rolled out over the coming weeks as the company returns the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services to the quality standard users have grown to enjoy and strive to exceed those exceptions.

SNEI will continue to reinforce and verify security for transactions before resuming the PlayStation®Store and other Qriocity operations, scheduled for this month.

Thanks to Nizmospecv for the fast tip!

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Comments (222)

  1. buck up sony

    @ freshseth

    Shut your little whore mouth, wrap your lips around your dads c0ck and suck it bitch. Sony are in the wrong full stop, they offer a service which I am not getting at the moment. First off sony should have never been in the position to get hacked, end of.

    1. That_guy100

      You sound like an angry kid who can’t stand that they cant play a multiplayer game for a few days. This hacking issue isn’t Sony’s fault. It’s the hackers. Why blame the victim, eh? and how can someone never be in a position to be hacked?

  2. TJC_69

    This is very frustrating for everyone. From the casual gamer to the most hardcore of us GT addicts.

    Sony shoudn’t of given us a deadline for PSN to go up unless they were 100% sure that they would make it. I understand that they are under HUGE pressure to get it back up ( Rightly so as they have made mistakes which led to it being taken down ) , but they’ve GOT to do this right.

    In the meantime we get to do more of other things we like to do….. spending time with our beautiful women , playing with the dog , concentrating on work etc….

    So let’s try and stay positive , every day above ground is a good day. : D

    1. Meh

      Crud, all I have is a ugly dog of a woman, and a lethargic goldfish. I’m screwed……J/K XD

  3. xl M0NTANA lx

    still isnt fixed??? what a joke SONY. I hate liars. This never should have happened in the first place. I now have a new perspective on all of SONY’S products. Your stock is sure to drop now you liars.

  4. Olegonic

    17.00 in Russia, no PSN fixed. SONY pulled our legs with a promisses to deliver PSN in a week. Holy crap everything connected with deadlines from PD and SONY

  5. JASON PAUL

    i just hope they get it right for all of us and them….with all the bad things that happen it really is not a big problem….

  6. Tokitai

    To Russianmule: From Dr. Gene Spafford expert in security: Spafford told the subcommittee that, according to security mailing lists he subscribes to, “individuals who work in security and participate in the Sony network” had learned “several months ago” that PSN was hosted on servers running “very old versions of Apache software that were unpatched and had no firewall installed.” Talk about security, my PC is more secure than Sony servers…. and now they ask us to trust them again !!??? Maybe sony thinks we’re all retards!!!!

    1. researchALLwars

      thanks man. when that mule called me a retard all I heard was “hawwwwww!!”

      : )

    2. That_guy100

      Actually you’re wrong. Sony’s network security was actually confirmed to be of the latest build. Read this article. gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=128351

      In truth, Dr. Gene Spafford has no first hand knowledge of the state of Sony’s servers or Sony’s knowledge about possible exploits and that he was literally repeating claims he read in the media which stem from IRC logs that were being passed around back in February. He didn’t even do the very basic detective work it has taken to completely repudiates the claims.

      You guys need to stop acting as if 100% hacker proof exists. Remember wikileaks? Anon hacked into the US government and managed to steal top secret information they had on their database and hosted it on that site before it was taken down. Now i’m pretty sure the US government would have higher and more sophisticated security than a Gaming/electronics company…that’s just common sense, yet they still got hacked.

  7. GTSK

    I think that Sony should take their time to solve this problem in the best way while keeping PSN free and our data secure. Who says that hackers can’t screw XBOX LIVE? Maybe yes, maybe not, but at least I don’t have to pay stupid money to be online on my console. Go on Sony, I’m supporting you.

  8. researchALLwars

    sony’s network security was embarrassingly weak.

    blaming the hackers for this inevitable occurrence is like blaming laborers who strike against their corrupt owners…

    viva le resistance!

  9. praggia

    Yep I think GT5 is an unfinished title in my opinion. The bugs can be frustrating for some, the shadows etc but you know what even will all this I still enjoy the game a great deal. I bought Shift 1 when it was released spent a few hours playing haven’t played it since.

    There is just something about GT and i mean all of them that just keeps you coming back for more…..and that to me says alot.

    Anyway I am sure PSN will be up when its ready and Sony wants to test it thoroughly before going live. With dwindling profits etc this was another HUGE hit for them and they pretty much don’t want to experience this again. Besides its essentially a free service so we don’t really have grounds for making a fuss do we???

  10. Russianmule

    If I am unable to play online, then I guess I’ll make the switch to xbox. I’m officially done. 1 hackers, 0 me.

  11. TJC_69

    And… if you still think i’m wrong , read the last line of the article again ” No new date was given for the restoration of the online servers. “

  12. TJC_69

    Additionally does this statement say to you that you will be online ( even Sunday night as you claim.. ) ” When we held the press conference in Japan last week, based on what we knew, we expected to have the services online within a week. We were unaware of the extent of the attack on Sony Online Entertainment servers, and we are taking this opportunity to conduct further testing of the incredibly complex system …..”

  13. TJC_69

    It’s not going up this week Silentscore99z….. check the US or European Playstation blog…..

  14. TJC_69

    New update just up on the European Blog site , just wait to you see it : ” When we held the press conference in Japan last week, based on what we knew, we expected to have the services online within a week. We were unaware of the extent of the attack on Sony Online Entertainment servers ”

    It gets better : ” we are taking this opportunity to conduct further testing of the incredibly complex system…… ”

    Check back again next month guys , sorry to be the bringer of bad news if you saw this here first. : (

    1. silentscore99z

      Actually your wrong I states basically that thi week it will be up and remember guys with most businesses the end of the week is at 1159 and 59.9. Pmsunday night

  15. rob

    When is the UK/European PSN due to be back online is what id like to know, ive been checking now since this story broke and still “undergoing maintenance”….wth is happening ?

  16. TJC_69

    The last ” Restoration Update ” is supposed to be still their target ( End of this week ) . So by their own admission I take in good faith that will be ( Worldwide ) by 11: 59 pm Saturday. Well that’s presuming Sunday is the start of the new Japanese week anyway….

    Although they have missed their own deadlines before remember ? Stating originally it would be only down for 2 days at the beginning is a classic example , but under unforseen circumstances due to the breach discovery.

    I just don’t see it being up yet , and with news of a 3rd wave of attacks coming this weekend it looks increasingly unlikely in my opinion….. I hope I am wrong though , It would be awesome to open a shiny new server at Nordschliefe.

    Here’s hoping….. :D

  17. freshseth83

    Idiots? You can do better I assume? Probably not. The hackers are the idiots. You think Sony is the only vulnerable company? Who knows and who cares why they- whoever it may be- picked Sony of all companies to hack, but it’s done. Lets just hope the network is back up soon.

  18. buck up sony

    Gt5 is unfinished, for lack of a better word. It al depends how happy one is with the game. Kaz says 2 years more work to the game would have been nice, I agree and I could have waited. It’s still a decent game though.

    back on topic… Why isn’t psn working when they said it would be this week. This is rubbish and sony better make up for it somehow. Idiots.

  19. SmileyOr1

    Unfinished?

    For me, the game plays out very well. It works and I’ve seen no flaws within the game since I purchased it in early December 2010.

    There may be some bugs you’d find if you crashed in just the right spot, but I try not to crash at all ;)

    I’m looking forward to it being back up sometime late next week. I have some HAZMAT training to do at home in the next week that will keep me busy enough :D and I don’t need the distraction!

  20. praggia

    Sorry guys I had to add my little rant there lol
    I love my PS3 though and i will defend it with my LIFE dammit.
    PSN not up but i’m sure they are doing their best lets cut them some slack. Yes personal info was grabbed etc etc but it could happen to any company
    No system is hack proof unfortunately.

    Not really bothered bout PSN just hoping for more GT5 updates pleeeeaaassseee…..erm pretty please ??? :)

  21. praggia

    I bet this was a Gt5 buyer who hacked the system after discovering that what he bought was a box full of empty promises….
    Yeah SONY suck it up, this is what you get for releasing an unfinished title

  22. Madman2k10+1

    We shud all just play gtr2 and install the F1 1988 season and drive Aryton Sennas mclaren honda around Spa. Nothing compares to that my friends!

  23. Lambob

    I am totally going to buy some PSN games when it’s back online! Anonymous can go kiss my collective butt! Long live Sony Playstation, and may you forever hire new game developers for your platform! Did I mention hackers can kiss my bum?

  24. Andrew

    I’m betting it starts with Japan and the reactivation rolls east through Europe as week ends with the service being global in 24 hours from start. If Sony thinks that people are whining now wait until someone else has service and they do not.
    I just hope they don’t pull the plug when some “hackers” “test” the new security or even more likely people who aren’t on the same PS3 the account was created on and have issue with email activation. I fear the s**t storm has just begun.
    Anyone else think ANON is NOT the culprit just scapegoats for the real perps?

  25. TJC_69

    1.47 am UK …
    A letter from Howard Stringer , The SCE of Sony. And i quote : ” In the coming days, we will restore service to the networks and welcome you back to the fun. I wanted to personally reach out and let you know that we are committed to serving you to the very best of our ability, protecting your information better than ever, and getting you back to what you signed up for – all the games and great entertainment experiences that you expect from Sony.With best regards,Howard Stringer. “

  26. TJC_69

    Sony May 6th 12.00am ( ish ) UK….
    ”Today our global network and security teams at Sony Network Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment began the final stages of internal testing of the new system, an important step towards restoring PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. ”

    Ive heard that they’re going to try a Worldwide boot up of the service too… We’re getting ( somewhat ) close to the end of this embarrassment . I have hardly touched GT since the 21st of April and I can’t wait to catch up with my friends that I haven’t got on my social network page….

    It’s been a rough ride of no information and disinformation , but we’ll all be back up soon.

  27. t3hCheezwhiz

    I work in the cell phones industry and deal with some pretty silly requests for some sort of credit. Honestly I don’t feel this is enough though. May an online voucher for a game, you send Sony the bill, and they send you a debate debit card for the price. I didn’t think twice about dropping the money I have with Sony, but had Mr Gates’ company been thnking, the should have offered to buy your PS3 and games and either give a discount on a console purchase at a greatly discounted price. Even though we are loyal Sony fans, that can change given the right circumstances, which this slowly is becoming. Before anyone says something about free service, I have PS+, and lost multiple VUDU rentals. This is getting ridiculous. I know a lot of people that would pay for PSN,which I would still conside, but with extreme caution.

  28. GTsimms

    Yeah, It doesn’t look like this week at the moment. They should have scheduled a network time, where we could have pulled our drivers from the online status and cars!

  29. Zuel

    Two days until the weekend and it’s still not up. My gut feeling is that we’ll won’t see it up until mid of next week.

  30. jaycee

    The calculations are made by a monk sealead in a wiskey barrel? hehehe
    Good luck sony, I really miss PSN

  31. SmileyOr1

    11:15 AM PST West Coast USA; PSN still down.

    I find myself spending more time trying to b-spec the 4 hour and 9 hour endurance races with a competitive car that will win without blowing away the competition.

    I do this while at work and while sleeping in place of remote racing.

    Since my X2010 and FGT are both stuck online and I only have 2 of my level 40 b-spec guys to run with I have to be careful. With too competitive a car they might, well have, lost races. If I had 4 bobs available they could win with a lesser car.

  32. Dem0n

    Getting annoyed with this now. 4:12 BST still down. Can’t get the Formula GT until it’s back, sick to the back teeth.

  33. Dem0n

    Getting annoyed with this now. 4:12 BST still down. Can’t get the FGT until it’s back, sick to the back teeth.

  34. schlesi68

    14:15:44 PM CEST @ germany the PSN is also still down.
    I think it will not go online before the weekend.

  35. Unsurprising

    Just checked out the us playstation blog, sony found a server in put in the system called, wait 4 it….. ‘anonymous’ with the ‘we are legion’ in it. Y am i not surprised -_-

  36. TheHemulin

    well apparently psn in japan is up & running? if thats true lets hope we get it back asap.dont want the free stuf unless gt5 related,they better have made it that if you have to change your psn details it will still recognise my saved data I AM NOT STARTING AGAIN,if not my ps3 is gona be sold!!!!!

  37. Tokitai

    As PSN was down, I began to buy every car of the UCD, hopping when I was finished, PSN will be running again… Guess what, I’ve got 20 millions and all the cars, time to play another game I guess… ( Still waiting for endurance saves though…)

  38. stevo_mahony

    damn i’m getting sick of waiting. i’m not gonna be a sook and say i’m buying a xbox but i will say that sony should give us more then a $7 buck 30 day subscription on trial games and music. Do they want us to remember the day they crashed hard and gave us a lump of coal, or the day they hooked us the new escalation map pack cause they’re just awsome :)

  39. Robert Bullock

    I feel bad for both sides here. Love GT5. How about filling the coffers when PSN goes back up. I suggest all GT5’ers get 20 million in the credits, so we can buy those 5 million dollar cars that we like so much. Lastly, a mini-rant. Performance points should include tire choice, as it was in the beginning. Hardly any interest in this on the feedback forum. Best of luck to all of us who have had our information compromised.

  40. NEW ONLINE NAME?

    Gotta give this some thought.
    Plus, I wonder if we will be able to re-sign up with the same email address?

  41. CHEESED OFF!!

    They said on the ps3 blog news thingy that it would be less than a week from 27th April, so i’m guessing wednesday or thursday switch on…….fingers crossed its earlier.

    1. SKOT Free

      What’s GTR2? I dont want to play if the people I met on GT5 aren’t on! Thats why in so bummed on PSN being down . I want to drift with my friends!

    1. SKOT Free

      Still not up but now I’ve heard Friday or Saturday, which doesn’t make sense considering I don’t think SOny works weekends and starting on Friday would mean someone has to monitor in case something goes wrong. Im hoping for tonight at the least! Please I can’t take it anymore! *Sobs*

  42. EAO HarleyMan

    Sony is just telling you what they want you to hear. You don’t honestly think they are going to tell you the truth do you. That is how businesses operate they keep you in the dark and keep you hanging. I hope there free item to you is a jar of Vaseline you will need it

    1. HSV_GTS

      Where are u coz I’m in Australia and it’s still only Tuesday and ur post says the 3rd already, I hope it’s back tomorrow coz that’s what iv heard. Can’t wait

  43. BobWho

    Checking Gran Turismo’s website and click log in a few times a day from my phone. Sadly if it did allow me to log in. I would of left work and came home to get my Bobs off online status. Hahahah

  44. Drift_Crazy

    If you have an android phone, there’s an app called “ps3 friends” it’s like having the psn on your phone..I keep checking the psn status and it’s still down.

  45. Suntoucher

    Undisputed World hide and seek champion, Osama Bin Laden’s last words were reported to be ” why o why did I get a PSN account?”

  46. Jake

    So is it back up now? I got on here to see if anyone had posted anything but it looks like I ended up on Oprah Winfrey’s “drama” blog…

  47. freddy

    Glad to have PSN services back. I dont know if i will be getting on like i used to. I kind of got used to being offline and began to do so many more productive things with my time. Sure i will be playing here and there or i just dont know. This is what im thinking now. I might change my mind later. We all do.

  48. Thesrdic

    I’ve got to wait for my rlod to be fixed first, my slim broke 4 days after the outrage started

  49. Lil Ape

    PSN was down this whole time? Sorry i was to busy playing forza 3 and XBL to even notice.

    1. bigburt82

      XBL is utter tripe. XBL was down for the same amount of time (2 weeks) and it was nothing to do with one of the biggest hacks of all time; Microsoft just couldn’t handle the extra traffic caused by Halo 3’s release. Pitiful.

      XB is a second rate console with not even half the features of a PS3, hence it being half the price. You have to buy an add on remote pack to watch DVDs and it can’t even play Blu-Ray disks!

      BTW, Forza 3 is nowehere near as good as GT5. XB fanboys can visit their own sites rather than come on here. I’m sure you’re a Man Utd fan as well, and spend your whole time obsessed with talking about what’s happening at Liverpool.

    2. Lil Ape

      @bigburt82 LOL U MAD? I you actually had an xbox you’d know that you don’t need a remote to watch DVD’s, you just use the controller like PS3. And it’s not like the PS3 comes with a remote anyways, you still have to buy that separate. And sony’s too cheap to even include a mic. And the 250GB 360 is the same price as the 160GB PS3, that’s not half the price you idiot. I too have a PS3 so you can’t pull that “you’re a fanboy” crap on me.

    3. Benny44

      Haha lil ape- a bit sensitive are we? Playing XBL? It’s so boring you have to come on to a site that specializes in GT5, a PS3 game, and try and bug us loyal PS fans. Why are you even here?

    4. sickdog2009

      guys, guys quit the arguments geez at the end of the day they’re just game consoles. I do have both consoles hell i even have the nintendo Wii, i only play consoles for the games not to go on forums posting “PS3 IZ SO MACH BETTAR THN GAYBOX CAUSE ITS SHINY!” lol and no @Lil Ape i do not call you a fanboy i respect your opinion but i do like ps3 aswell with it ‘non shooter’ games.

  50. NFSCARBON1

    It’s good to hear it’ll be back up, hopefully they’ll have taken the opportunity to iron out the problems the network was having before it was hacked. Hopefully the free content will include DLC. Please PD, give us some new stealth’s!!!

  51. Foxiol

    Sony did not say this but PSN accounts are 77 million and 10 million have attached the credit card number and “2.2 Million Credit Card Details Stolen From Sony PSN During Hacker’s Attacks”…this is on some news that Sony off course did not told to us. I say this only to pay attention if you have the credit card in the PSN…so go and check if you have something strange.

    This is good news but i can´t feel comfortable again if my info is in bad hands. Sony must say this to us too.

  52. Dustyr

    They moved all the servers into a central location. And as far as you credit card info it’s encrypted with a 128 bit wich is the same as banks use. Also the would need the three numbers pin from the back that is not stored on Sony servers and as far as address name and phone number, open a phone book and it’s all there. They should bring the servers back up tomorrow tho, I want my free car

  53. TT3AZ

    I also hope that additional firewalls doesnt slow down the online play, because its horrible in gt5 huh. Second good luck finding the hackers Sony, if you are running these VPN services, its impossible to trace you. I also think “hackers” use other peoples networks aswell, or even other peoples computers to do the “dirty” job.

    Oddly enough, they didnt say anything about updrading the server performances, which is more important to me.

  54. Rob

    I don’t know why everyone is and has been freaking out about the playstation network outage, yeah understand it’s been down for a week but get over it it’s a virtual game for gods sake… does nobody have a life anymore go out and hang out with friends go do another hobby!

    1. mobiletone

      i’ve spent the week doing up my g/friends new apartment and getting some good loving.

  55. Rob

    I don’t know why everyone is and has been freaking out about the playstation network outage, yeah understand it’s been down for a week but get over it it’s a virtual game for gods sake… does nobody have a life anymore go out and hang out with friends go do another hobby! honestly the way I see it (besides the whole personal info problem) I see it as a good thing all you gamers are getting a taste of real life STOP COMPLAINING everyone it’s a free service (except PS+ members, I can see why you might be upest)

  56. millgate1

    Thank you Sony! playing Monster Hunter Tri on my Wii was getting boring!! and we get free 30 days of PS+? love you! xD

    1. SKOT Free

      I’m already a PS+ subscriber but 30 free days isn’t a gift considering unless u subscribe after the 30 days, you will lose all that DL content. Sony may just Roll out 30 free days anyway to just hook people on the service.

  57. SKOT Free

    Man I never realized how I need my online gaming! I miss socializing with all my friends on GT5 as well as other games on PS3!

  58. 2Smokes

    Yeah they can keep the plus membership. Its just a way their trying to implement pay to play, they offer the online storage that if you don’t keep paying they delete your data. No thanks. I bet PD took advantage of the down time, I would expect an update to GT5. Can’t wait!

  59. AGNT009

    And for crap like this, I have a separate checking account that I JUST use for internet transactions. So, I transfer money from my primary account, to my internet account, then use the debit card connected to my internet account. Then I transfer money to PSN. I also use separate passwords for things like games, and a primary pass for things that involve more important stuff. So, if the crooks want to use that password of mine, it wasnt good for anything juicy, lol.

    1. Geared

      You do understand that the crooks also got your Name, Address, Phone Number, Age, email, and IP address you use primarily, to go along with that credit card thats not “juicy”. Is this site completely full of 12 year olds with mommy’s card that don’t actually care that Sony is not even going to help protect you now one single bit? Sony posted a link in the email they sent out for how YOU can contact the credit bureaus and put a lock on your accounts. Handling this kind of data without encryption at my work is criminal negligence. This company should be put out of business and the CEO jailed over something of this magnitude. 70 MILLION PEOPLE. Doesn’t the size of this ring any bells in your feeble little minds beside “when do I get my free chips” ! Jeeze, this world is doomed if we are to let you inherit it.

    2. SKOT Free

      @Geared. You are very naive to think that the same info you mention can be gathered easily by other means. It’s really an illusion to think that any site on the Net is totally secure from hacker activity. I’m sure most people on here have FB pages with their real names and other juicy info. Plus FB sells your info too not on the scale of a hacker but very similar. I’m just saying this should be a wake up call for total net security and not just on Sony.

    3. FelipeJardim

      @Geared

      Sony said no user data was compromised, but you cant rule out the possibility. And if at your work, leaving out that kind of info is criminal negligence, do you think a company like sony would break a simple rule like that? Sony encrypts their data using 128 bit encryption just like major banks, hence why they can’t get sued for this. 70 million accounts is too much data for one intruder or even a group of them to decipher. Come on, you must think Sony is completely at fault here, like hackers dont even exist…

    4. ActionJeans

      @ FelipeJardim

      They said no such thing like “no user data was compromised”, you need to read more. It’s quite likely in fact, according to security experts, and not PR spin, that up to 10 million credit cards were compromised, and of course this is including all the PSN user data that you’re required to enter. There has been no mention of 128 bit encryption mentioned by any credible source, so I’m not certain it was – that, and the nature of the hack was actually through a hacked PS3, so the encryption may not have even been effective, if the data was.
      Sony fanboys on this site are amazing – and you better believe there is already a lawsuit in the works, and the security protocols and the way the data was stored may in fact be criminal – time will tell that, but by law, they must disclose any and all information about the compromised data – at this point Sony is trying to minimize the blame, but hackers gonna hack – you must protect your customers data accordingly.

    5. Darp

      Lol, right now some hacker may have my PSN info but the jokes on him unless there really is an “Ima Nottatellinue” living at “123 Not A Real Address, Eagle River, Wisconsin”.
      And forget my CC info, seperate account, no balance, canceled two years ago.
      Moral of the story, Never give any websites you don’t have to any real info, and no real info can be taken by hackers. If you must use a CC, get a special debit account just for online that can be easily cancled without effecting your “real world” accounts like AGNT009 mentioned.
      Taking such steps goes a long way towards preventing a big headache when this stuff happens.

  60. Tvensky

    hey! in my country “this week” means this week and today is last day of “this week” :) sunday… WTF.. I do remember somewhere it was different… can someone point me to right dirrection please? :) I do understad its “next week” for me..

    1. Tvensky

      in my country its GMT +2, in Japan GMT +8, so when this press conference was (in the morning 9.00 am) they had sunday, in my country it was 3.00 am at that time, 6 hour difference and still sunday :) weird.

    2. SKOT Free

      Actually Bro in all the civilized world Sunday is the First day of the week. I’m American and even I know that.

    3. Tvensky

      I live in Europe, And 1st day of week is “monday” :)

      I meant no offence, I just didnt know Japans first day of week was “sunday”.. interesting :)

    4. Tvensky

      Hey! and that means “this week” for Japan ends at “saturday”, one less day then in may country :) it is good news :) hope PSN will be back sooner though…

    5. SKOT Free

      Trust me, everywhere on Earth Sunday is the 1st day of the week. The weekend starts on Friday and ends Saturday. The business week starts on Monday however and that’s where the confusion is. So you too are correct .

    6. Darp

      Sunday is widely considered the first day of the week based on The Old Testament, and the Jewish/early Christian belief that God created the world in 6 days, and rested on the 7th (Saturday, Jewish Sabbath), with the 7th being the last day of the week. Christians later switched to Sunday for their Sabbath, but there has been no dirrect alterration of The Old Testament to reflect the change, and the orriginal Jewish interpretation is still considerred correct.
      Has for the “non religious” awnser for ” what’s the first day of the week?”, many people seem to favor the monday awnser based on weekly work cycles.
      Which one is right, however, is mainly a matter of personal belief, and an unwinable argument for the most part.

  61. Reformed

    Really PS+ for a year would be nice to get for free, in the long run it would make them money, because more users would have a chance to test it out for them self, cause more people to buy PS+ for future use. What do you guys think??

    1. MOTORTRENDmitch

      I agree. They might have done that for a reason, more people will like it and more money they make in long run

  62. Catalysis

    There should be substantial compensation from Sony for so carelessly handling our data. I could care less that they were hacked, but I am deeply angry that my data has been stolen with such apparent ease and an abysmal lack of encryption.

  63. Brandon

    Just in time to sync the 6 plats I earned while PSN was down including… Gran Turismo 5 platinum!

  64. joe6801

    This is a wake up call to remind people on how the gaming was before. When was the last time you remember playing single player, story mode, A-Spec?

    1. rik

      thats all i play really…..not bothered about online play..only want online for the demos and dlc..

    2. occasionalracer

      Guys who don’t find online racing attractive, are guys who are only playing, the rest of us are simulating reality. Who really wants to race against a calculator? I’m older and know what a privilege it is to race against another mind, body and soul, I remember dreaming of this a few years back.

    3. Rage0329

      Race against the clock. Beat some production car times around Nurburgring on Sports Hards.

  65. J8mie

    This is great news. Thank you for the freebies, thats a nice touch. I don’t hold Sony responsible, but I do think they could have handled I a bit better from the start. Oh well, you live and learn.

  66. dearlybeloved

    This is a hell of a learning curve that sony has to endure. Good luck to them and i suppose that when a business model like this is put into action, one can expect all sorts of issues and problems.

  67. opelgt1969

    Free 30 days of Playstation Plus and music but I’m betting that you will have to give a credit card number to get the 30 days free!

    1. BubbleBelly542

      No I’m 100% sure you won’t. But the PS Store won’t be back up for almost a month so we won’t had much time to take advantage of that, unless we don’t get + until the store is up.

    2. opelgt1969

      When the music thing first went online with a “Free” 30 day trial you had to give a credit card number so guess what I did I didn’t try it!

    1. BubbleBelly542

      I haven’t minded it much, except I was about to get a plat. trophy but I need to go online for a trophy. :/

  68. gerard

    well done sony playstation network team!

    hopefully some free content is gt related.. we can only hope :)

  69. Grog96

    But what if your not on the same ps3 or have the same email, surely you won’t be able to change your password. I am not on the same ps3 but I am using the same email luckily. Not to bring in the negativity but??

  70. Kaaosherra

    Every time there’s a news item talking about the “outage”, I always read outrage.

    1. Brandon

      Ditto man! Ever since the second day it was down it always read outrage to me. I knew I couldn’t have been the only one.

  71. Dino

    I am already subscribed to PSN+. I am the one who pays for an online service and the ones who don’t get free content? Not sure if serious

    1. BubbleBelly542

      You better be careful. The FBI is coming after you. Lol. Id be careful what you say because the FBI is looking for the hacker an to me it kind of sounds like you want to hack it.
      But you are a GTP member, so you’re a good person and wouldn’t do that.

  72. Spade

    Finally Sony gives us a good update! I can’t wait to get back into playing some of my favorite online games! GT5 being one of them!

  73. Will

    The free month of PSN+ is a great move by Sony. I posited to a friend that they should give everyone a free 3 month subscription, but I think this will accomplish the same task, which is to reel in new paying customers who previously thought they would never pay for online service. This could turn out to be a boon for Sony in the long run.

  74. AnPrionsaBeag

    Can I have extra GT5 tracks and premiums instead of the regular complimentary package?

  75. II-zOoLoGy-II

    Also, I hope they’re up to withstanding the flood of players that will hit PSN as soon as it is back up….

    1. DeathMuffinZ

      Thats why it’s coming on Tuesday not Friday if it did it would crash the server but tuesday kids get off from school then adults some adults would call in sick Friday

  76. II-zOoLoGy-II

    As soon as it comes back up I am: 1- Unsubscribing from Playstation Plus. 2- Doing 3 weeks (hopefully) worth of seasonal events that I am now behind on.

  77. STIG_RS6

    Shortly? Shortly is a bit of a cop out, I mean define “shortly”. If I said to someone I was doing something shortly, I would mean withing the next hour, but Sony’s definition of shortly obviously means within a week, which is information I already knew.

    Also , I appreciate the gesture, but I’m not interested in free Playstation+, the reason I don’t pay for it now is because I wouldn’t use any of the functions available, not because it costs money. I’m happy with just being able to get back online and play again “shortly”.

    Good work to Sony though, it couldn’t have been easy to turn all the furniture back up the right way and in the grand scheme of things 2 weeks or so isn’t a great deal of time.

  78. G

    This news pleases me, and thank you for sony for the free stuff, I mean free stuff for not having a free service for a week or two? Thats cool.

    Look forward to new online events and joining you guys for mindless drifting track days! WOOO!

    1. Matt

      Well, it’s not really a free service. It was advertised as part of the PS3 so really the cost was included in the price of the PS3. The main reason I bought a PS3 over xbox was because of free PSN. If we had to pay for it then I wouldn’t have bought one and just stuck with free online PC gaming. I’ll never pay to play online.

  79. Narutone66

    My birthday just passed, do I get a free car? I was anticipating the free birthday gift car for a long time.

  80. AlphaAndius

    Excellent to know that Sony will eventually win this one. :) The plus side of these mistakes, that Sony learns from these experiences, making them stronger for the future. Regrettable the people who may have lost lots of money and privacy as the casualties of this cyberwar, but hopefully, it may bring to a better tommorrow.

    And I’ll see you all on the track ;) , hehe.

    1. HSV_GTS

      I played mine craft for 3 days and got so bored playing it, then I decided to finish RDR and LBP2 but then couldn’t to a thing so back to Boeing Facebook until PSN IS back up.

  81. Evolvedsoul

    Im glad they were able to fix it.. better no happen again though! Do we get 100 paint chips when we log in? ;D

    Thanks for keeping us updated!

    1. AlphaAndius

      Hahaha, that would be hilarious, yet awesome, the paint chips would be welcome, hehehe. ^^

    1. VBR

      “•Implementation of additional firewalls.” I hope that doesn’t affect the quality of online gaming, there’s enough issues with GT5 online for some of us at the moment.

    2. XxStanTheManxX

      I agree about the FREE downloads. When is the exact date for PSN to be back online?

    3. ADR_XCLUTCH

      There are many rumors that Sony will relaunch PSN this Tuesday. Whatever the case, I am glad Sony is giving us this token of appreciation because 1: It’s the right thing to do to try to make amens for this security breach, and 2: It’ll shut all he XBOX fans mouths about Sony not doing anything for their clients. Thank you Sony.

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