Sony Issues Letter to Publishing Partners
By Alex Co | May 14, 2011 | News | No comments | Share
Sony’s PSN has been down for more than three weeks now and people are certainly getting impatient. Not just gamers, but publishers and developers as well.
With the PlayStation Network out of commission, a lot of DLC and PSN games cannot be bought by consumers. That’s money lost for the people developing/publishing these things.
What did Sony say to them? Not a whole lot as it turns out. Rob Dyer, SVP of Publisher Relations for Sony has sent out a letter to their publishing partners and we have it here for your perusal (via IndustryGamers).
Dear Partner:
As you know, certain PlayStation Network, Qriocity and Sony Online Entertainment service user account information was compromised in criminal attacks against our networks. I want to assure you, as a PlayStation partner, that it is Sony’s top priority to restore our network operations and see that business is returned to usual as soon as possible. We are working around the clock to restore service, but will do so only when we can ensure that the network can operate safely and securely. In the meantime, we greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill.”
After that, Sony details the breach and what areas of the network were affected – most, if not all, the information listed are things we already know and released by Sony themselves on their official blog.
It lists the appointment of a new Chief Information Security Officer, the new CISO will report directly to Shinji Hasejima, Chief Information Officer of parent company Sony Corporation.
Amother section of the letter reads:
What Steps Are Being Taken?
We have taken aggressive action to give consumers peace of mind, protect them against the abuse of their data, and enhance our security systems moving forward.
We have already advised our consumers in the U.S. that we will offer complimentary identity theft protection services through a leading provider, including an insurance program of up to $1 million. Similar programs are being developed in other markets around the world.
In addition, Sony is taking a series of steps to enhance security of our network infrastructure. They include but are not limited to:
• adding additional automated software monitoring and configuration management to help defend against new attacks;
• enhanced levels of data protection and encryption, as well as additional penetration and vulnerability testing;
• enhanced capabilities to detect software intrusions within the network, unauthorized access and unusual activity patterns;
• implementation of additional firewalls;
• expediting a planned move of the system to a new data center in a different location with enhanced security; and
• appointment of a new Chief Information Security Officer.
Finally, to thank our customers for their patience and loyalty, we are offering them “welcome back” packages as soon as the networks are restored, including free downloads of selected PlayStation entertainment, 30 days of free service as well as service extensions for the number of days PSN and Qriocity services were unavailable, with similar benefits for Music Unlimited subscribers.
Looking Ahead
We of course deeply regret that this incident has occurred. We are working closely with the FBI to identify and apprehend the culprits who committed this crime against our consumers, our partners and our company. I know you can appreciate how widespread the problem of cybercrime is in society today. Although no company is immune, we are confident our consumer data will be protected by some of the best security measures available today.
As a valued partner we aim to keep the lines of communication open so that you are aware of our progress. Our focus has been to confirm the security of the networks, protect customer data and get the services back on line as quickly as possible. We will do our best to respond to all of your inquiries and we will do everything we possibly can to support you.
We are doing everything we can to bring these services back online as soon as possible. We will update you with more information as soon as we can, but please call your account executive if you have further questions. We thank you for your patience and look forward to moving ahead together in the months and years to come.
Very truly yours,
Rob Dyer
SVP, Publisher Relations
While this letter is in no way addressed to consumers, it’s a bit surprising that the letter mostly consists of things we already know and this is addressed to publishing partners.
How do you think Sony’s publishing partners are taking this? Sound off in the comments
