Sony to restore all PlayStation network services in Japan
Sony Corp said it will fully restore all Playstation Network videogame services in Japan, marking the resumption of all network services worldwide after a massive security breach forced the company to shut them down in April.
Sony said on Monday that PlayStation and Qriocity network services will be fully back online on July 6, after the theft of data on 77 million PlayStation accounts and an 11-week shutdown.
Services have been brought back only partially in Japan, which accounts for less than 10 percent of PlayStation network users.
Hackers also stole data from 25 million users of a separate system, its Sony Online Entertainment PC games network, in a breach discovered on May 2.
The security breaches have forced Sony executives to appear before a U.S. Congressional hearing, and were followed by a reshuffle of management at Sony's gaming unit. Its shares have lost 12 percent since April 26, the day before the company revealed the first attack.
Cyber security is quickly becoming a priority for policymakers. An attack on defense contractor Lockheed Martin may have compromised SecureID tokens made by EMC Corp, while data on U.S. government officials may have been stolen through an attack on Google Inc.
Shares of Sony ended up 0.3 percent before the announcement on Monday, against a 1 percent rise in the benchmark Nikkei average.
(Reporting by Mayumi Negishi; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
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