Almost two weeks PSN network has been down after hackers breached Sony’s Playstation Network.

At a press conference in Tokyo Sony announced that  the PSN network and the Qriocity music and movie service will be back online this week. The services will be rolled out covering online games on PS3, PSP, access to movie rentals and music. As well as chat, access to account management and password reset.

I advice you to reset your password as one of the first actions you do when it comes back online. The hackers may very well have gotten away with user details including passwords. Sony has still not revealed (or don’t know) if credit card details was among the accessed information. Most likely we will see a forced system update forcing everyone to change passwords.

Kazuo Hirai, Executive Deputy President of Sony, commented: “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.”

“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.”

The “welcome back” appreciation program will be tailored by territory, and will consist of free content for download. PSN customers will also be given a month’s free PlayStation Plus, with PlayStation Plus subscribers also receiving 30 days worth of free service. Additional freebies are promised in the near future.

Until next time

Peter – Your Online Security Guide