Sony fined £250,000 in the UK over 2011 hacking fiasco (update)
A UK government agency has slapped Sony's wrist with a £250,000 ($400,000) penalty for not doing enough to protect the personal information of its customers. The fine specifically concerns the large-scale PSN hack in April 2011, which the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) says "could have been prevented." The agency's head, David Smith, said that the security measures Sony had in place "were simply not good enough." He added that Sony trades on its technical know-how, and had access to the necessary expertise to protect itself from criminal attacks:
"There's no disguising that this is a business that should have known better."
Though the size of the fine might seem piddling for an outfit like Sony, the ICO considers it to be a "substantial" punishment, reflecting the fact that this case is "one of the most serious" that has ever been reported to it. Check out David Smith's statement and best angry teacher face in the video after the break.
Update: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe emailed us to say that it plans to appeal the decision. The company also agrees with the ICO's findings that although it was the victim of a focused criminal attack, it was unlikely that personal data accessed was used for "fraudulent purposes".
