PlayStation Network Security Breach

As many in the tech and gaming community are aware, Sony's PlayStation Network, the service that allows users to connect online for multiplayer games, download music, movies, games and other content has been down for about one week, and will apparently be down for at least another week. Sony has confirmed that their network was attacked and that personal information of its users was likely leaked.

Here is part of an update published by Sony's Patrick Seybold, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications and Social Media:

"Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have been obtained. While there is no evidence at this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have been obtained."

If you are a PlayStation Network user, then within the next few weeks and months, it might be wise to check your credit card statements and your credit report to make sure that your leaked personal information has not been abused. In fact, with data breaches becoming more common, it is recommended that you check your credit report at least once every year by requesting a free copy at AnnualCreditReport (https://www.annualcreditreport.com/), which is the centralized service for consumers to request free annual credit reports from consumer credit reporting companies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. (Source: PlayStation Blog)