Do you think fine on Sony for the large-scale PSN hack is not enough? 

U.K.’s data protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) $396,100 for having insufficient security measures to prevent a cyberattack on its PlayStation Network (large-scale PSN hack).

Do you think fine on the entertainment giant, Sony for the large-scale PSN hack is not enough? Share your views in the comments below.

The PlayStation Network was hacked in mid-April 2011, when LulzSec hackers targeted the Sony PlayStation Network by using a series of DDoS attacks — which compromised the personal details of millions of users.

Personal information including customers’ payment card details, names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth and account passwords were exposed.

UK authorities, a public agency to protect information rights of individuals, said a hack in April 2011 “could have been prevented”.

The entertainment giant, Sony Computer Entertainment, the company’s game division, said it felt the fine was undeserved. “SCE disagrees with the ruling and is planning an appeal,” said Satoshi Fukuoka, an SCE spokesman in Tokyo.

You can find official release here.

David Smith, ICO’s director of data protection 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.”

About the author: Amarendra Bhushan

A journalist, author and serial entrepreneur- Founder and CEO of CEOWORLD Magazine and Lucentbyte Media Technologies LTD. (amar@ceoworld.biz)