After word got out that hackers had breached the PlayStation Network, Sony quickly shut it down. Now it seems that hackers have breached Sony Online Entertainment as well.
In a notification released today on SOE's website, the company announced today that hackers have obtained personal information from SOE systems.
"We are today advising you that the personal information you provided us in connection with your SOE account may have been stolen in a cyber-attack. Stolen information includes, to the extent you provided it to us, the following: name, address (city, state, zip, country), email address, gender, birthdate, phone number, login name and hashed password."
SOE commented that customers outside the United States should be advised that an outdated database from 2007 had been breached and that "approximately 12,700 non-US customer credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates and about 10,700 direct debit records listing bank account numbers of certain customers in Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Spain may have also been obtained."
Sony stated they will be notifying each customer about the breach.
SOE also stated that their is no evidence that their main credit card information was compromised as it was stored on a "separate and secure environment."
Like the situation with the PSN hack, SOE has taken similar steps by shutting down all SOE game services, hired an outside security firm to do a complete investigation and has taken steps to strengthen their security.
"To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports."
