Sony defends slow PSN hack response
"It would have been irresponsible."
It took Sony nine days to inform the 70 million+ PSN account holders that their personal data - including credit card details - had been compromised at the hands of hackers.
Those nine days of drip-drip secrecy bred unnecessary mistrust towards Sony. Would the mood be different had Sony admitted earlier what was going on?
No, Sony Network Entertainment president Tim Schaaf has said - "If we'd responded earlier it would have been irresponsible." The company apparently had to learn more about the hacker intrusion first.
Schaaf spoke at a US House Energy and Commerce panel hearing watched by the Wall Street Journal.
He went on to snub allegations that Sony's security was out of date and rebutted that "it was quite a remarkable attack".
Republican Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack, who chairs the subcommittee panel that held the hearing, believes Sony could have acted quicker.
"Consumers have a right to know when their personal information has been compromised and companies have a responsibility to promptly alert them," she said.
Sony's PlayStation Network has now been restored in full, as the Store reopened yesterday. There are teething problems, however, which should subside as the surge of traffic calms.
But the hacking nightmare hasn't ended for Sony, as Sony Pictures last night lost the personal details of more than 1 million people to Lulzsec.
Sony expects the PlayStation Network hack bill to be £105 million by this time next year.