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SOE releases further breach details, 24.6 million accounts compromised

There's an old adage that things are always darkest just before the dawn, and right now the folks at Sony Online Entertainment -- as well as millions of customers -- are enduring another round of grim news. The San Diego-based MMORPG publisher has just announced that approximately 24.6 million accounts may have been stolen, in addition to the 12,700 credit or debit card thefts reported yesterday.

A new SOE press release reports that personal information including names, addresses, email addresses, login names, and hashed passwords has been illegally obtained by hackers. Another 10,700 direct debit records were pilfered from accounts in Austria, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain, including bank account numbers and the information mentioned above.

SOE plans to compensate consumers with 30 days of free subscription time as well as an additional day for each day its systems are down. The company will also provide "a complimentary offering to assist users in enrolling in identity theft protection services and/or similar programs."