Following the events that have played out this week involving the unauthorized breach of Sony’s PlayStation Network service, the office of Canada’s privacy commissioner has released a statement on the matter, saying it is investigating the privacy breach that has affected millions of PSN users worldwide.
Jennifer Stoddart, spokesperson for Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, said Sony had not notified them of the breach, in which hackers obtained sensitive material such as user passwords and addresses. However, Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act does not state that notification is required in events of this nature.
"We are currently looking into this matter and are seeking information from Sony," Valerie Lawton said in an email. "We will determine next steps once we have a full understanding of the incident."
Sony earlier this week announced that their security had been compromised, and have urged PSN users to vigilantly monitor their account statements and credit reports, and have also suggested that users change their passwords as soon as the service is restored.
The Japanese hardware giant hopes to bring some of the PSN services back online within a week, according to a statement by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) senior director of corporate communications and social media, Patrick Seybold.
In addition, Sony has said that it has hired an outside security firm to look into, and improve security as it recovers from the damage.