psn breach
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Sony estimates $3.2b loss this year, $171 million cost for PSN breach
It has not been a good year for Sony, which was affected both by the massive earthquake in March and the PSN outage that spanned from April into May. There couldn't be any doubt that those things would have a drastic impact on the company's bottom-line, and it's now taking the time to give investors an idea of just how big an impact that could be -- even though the financial issues lie largely elsewhere. Sony is set to announce its full financial report for its fiscal year this Thursday and, to soften the blow, estimates have been revised steeply downward. Previously Sony predicted a ¥70 billion ($855 million) profit, but now thinks a ¥260 billion ($3.14 billion) loss is rather more accurate -- a ¥360 billion non-cash charge taking the wind out of ¥200 billion in operating income. The earthquake was directly blamed for a loss of ¥22 billion, but that figure could certainly grow as this estimate is only through the end of March. Additionally, Sony has provided a early guess of a ¥14 billion (about $172 million) total cost for the PSN breach. That's less than two bucks per exposed account, but again we wouldn't be surprised if it's a figure that increases through the year. You know, once the lawyers start having their fun.
Expert says Sony knew of PSN security weakness
The PlayStation Network outage plot thickens. In today's hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Sony executive vice president Kaz Hirai refused to testify. One who did testify, however, was US Public Policy Council of the Association for Computing Machinery head Gene Spafford, and did he ever have some words for Sony. During his testimony, Spafford claimed that Sony was well aware of the security holes in the PlayStation Network, asserting that PSN was using old software that was "unpatched and had no firewall installed." He also noted that these security issues were brought to the table in a Sony-moderated forum, but no action was taken as a result. If these claims are true, Sony is in for an even bigger world of hurt, and this situation could escalate into something not even a complimentary Batman mask can rectify. In related news, TG Daily reports that New York's Attorney General has subpoenaed Sony over the data breach and what "representations" were made to its customers in regard to the security of their information.
DC Universe Online players getting a new mask as a consolation prize
It hasn't been an easy ride for Sony Online Entertainment customers this week, as it looks like the PSN hack has affected them as well. The company is already working on a plan to make up the outage to players, especially the DC Universe Online customers who have been doubly hit. And as we all know, the road to mending fences starts with a nice hat, which has just recently been revealed on the former game's Facebook page. According to the official statement, all DC Universe Online players impacted by the outage will receive a free month of game time plus one day per day that the service was unavailable. Players will also be receiving a new Batman-inspired mask as shown above. Precise details will be made available to players in the coming days as network service begins restoration, and while the hat won't cure all woes, it will at least help ease the sting.
