UK Information Commissioner To Question Sony Over PSN Intrusion

The Information Commissioner's Office, the independent regulatory office that deals with data protection in the United Kingdom, has confirmed that it is looking into the intrusion of the PlayStation Network, and plans to question Sony over the theft of users' personal data. Sony revealed yesterday that over 70 million PSN accounts have been comprised, with an unknown group gaining access to personal information from every online account. The company also said that it "cannot rule out the possibility" that credit card information has been stolen. Speaking to news site Eurogamer, the ICO stated, "The Information Commissioner's Office takes data protection breaches extremely seriously. Any business or organization that is processing personal information in the UK must ensure they comply with the law, including the need to keep data secure." It continued, "We have recently been informed of an incident which appears to involve Sony. We are contacting Sony and will be making further enquiries to establish the precise nature of the incident before deciding what action, if any, needs to be taken by this office." The organization has the authority to take action against any company it believes has broken the law. Sony has been criticized for waiting several days to notify users of a breach in security. But in an official statement to Gamasutra, Sony said that it alerted users within 24 hours of finding out that user information was compromised.