ICO Fine Sony for PlayStation ID Hack
Sony to contest a £250,000 fine ironically from ICO
Sony is being fined £250,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office, aka with a little irony: ICO, a UK government office because of a massive PlayStation Network breach that saw user data apparently getting into the hands of the bad gu.
ICO has released the information that includes the £250,000 as well as a stinging rebuke to the company that includes the damning statement that:
"An ICO investigation found that the attack could have been prevented if the software had been up-to-date, while technical developments also meant passwords were not secure."
Also quoted is David Smith, Deputy Commissioner and Director of Data Protection, who says:
“If you are responsible for so many payment card details and log-in details then keeping that personal data secure has to be your priority. In this case that just didn’t happen, and when the database was targeted – albeit in a determined criminal attack – the security measures in place were simply not good enough.
“There’s no disguising that this is a business that should have known better. It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe.
“The penalty we’ve issued today is clearly substantial, but we make no apologies for that. The case is one of the most serious ever reported to us. It directly affected a huge number of consumers, and at the very least put them at risk of identity theft.
“If there’s any bright side to this it’s that a PR Week poll shortly after the breach found the case had left 77 per cent of consumers more cautious about giving their personal details to other websites. Companies certainly need to get their act together but we all need to be careful about who we disclose our personal information to.”
Source: ICO
ICO has released the information that includes the £250,000 as well as a stinging rebuke to the company that includes the damning statement that:
"An ICO investigation found that the attack could have been prevented if the software had been up-to-date, while technical developments also meant passwords were not secure."
Also quoted is David Smith, Deputy Commissioner and Director of Data Protection, who says:
“If you are responsible for so many payment card details and log-in details then keeping that personal data secure has to be your priority. In this case that just didn’t happen, and when the database was targeted – albeit in a determined criminal attack – the security measures in place were simply not good enough.
“There’s no disguising that this is a business that should have known better. It is a company that trades on its technical expertise, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe.
“The penalty we’ve issued today is clearly substantial, but we make no apologies for that. The case is one of the most serious ever reported to us. It directly affected a huge number of consumers, and at the very least put them at risk of identity theft.
“If there’s any bright side to this it’s that a PR Week poll shortly after the breach found the case had left 77 per cent of consumers more cautious about giving their personal details to other websites. Companies certainly need to get their act together but we all need to be careful about who we disclose our personal information to.”
Source: ICO
Companies:
Sony
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Comments
ohms 24 Jan 2013 10:04
1/1
Yes, that headline made no sense when assuming ICO is the game.