2011 PlayStation Network outage

2011 PlayStation Network outage
PlayStation Network logo
DateApril 20 – May 14, 2011 (2011-04-20 – 2011-05-14)
Duration24 days (3 weeks and 3 days)
Type"External intrusion", data breach
TargetPlayStation Network and Qriocity services
Outcome
  • Services restored after 23 days of downtime, with compensation offered to PSN users
  • Personal data exposed for 77 million PlayStation Network accounts
  • $171 million in costs for Sony

The 2011 PlayStation Network outage (sometimes referred to as the PSN Hack) was the result of an "external intrusion" on Sony's PlayStation Network and Qriocity services, in which personal details from approximately 77 million accounts were compromised and prevented users of PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles from accessing the service.[1][2][3][4] The attack occurred between April 17 and April 19, 2011,[1] forcing Sony to deactivate the PlayStation Network servers on April 20. The outage lasted 23 days.[5]

Government officials in various countries voiced concern over the theft and Sony's one-week delay before warning its users. The breach resulted in the exposure and vulnerability of personally identifiable information including usernames, physical addresses, email addresses, dates of birth, passwords, and financial details such as credit card and debit card information.[6]

  1. ^ a b "PlayStation Network Restoration Begins". PlayStation Network / PSN News. United Kingdom: Sony. 2011-05-17. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  2. ^ "Sony faces legal action over attack on PlayStation network". BBC News. bbc.co.uk. 2011-04-28. Archived from the original on 2023-09-24. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  3. ^ Richmond, Shane (2011-04-26). "Millions of internet users hit by massive Sony PlayStation data theft". London: Telegraph. Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  4. ^ Griffith, Chris (2011-04-27). "PlayStation users in Australia urged to check credit card activity". Australian IT. The Australian. Archived from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  5. ^ Owen Good (2011-05-20). "Welcome Back PSN: The Winners". Kotaku.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
  6. ^ Kolevski, David; Michael, Katina; Abbas, Roba; Freeman, Mark (2021-10-28). "Cloud computing data breaches: A review of U.S. Regulation and data breach notification literature". 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS). IEEE. pp. 1–7. doi:10.1109/istas52410.2021.9629173. ISBN 978-1-6654-3580-2. Archived from the original on 2024-05-22. Retrieved 2024-03-15.