Sony PlayStation account info hacked

Hackers have stolen account information likely including names, addresses, passwordsand possibly even credit card information fromSony Corp.'s PlayStation Network and Qriocity service,the companyannounced Tuesday on the seventh day of an outage.

In an announcement posted on the company's blog, Sony says the unauthorized intrusion took placebetween April 17 and April 19.

In response, Sony said, it has temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, engaged an outside security firm to conduct a complete investigation into what happened, andis rebuilding its system to provide greater protection for personal information.

Sony saidthe subscriberinformation that was likely compromised by the cyber attack include:

• Name, address (city, state, postal code), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID.
• Profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, postal code), and the subscriber's PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers. The same data with respect to a dependent may also have been obtained.

Sony said it believes it's possible credit card information card number (excluding security code) and expiration date might also have been compromised.

Sonyurged subscribers worried about identity theft to remain vigilant, review account statements andmonitor credit reports.

The outage of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Network ran into its seventh day Tuesdayas the company says it expected to restore some services within a week.