Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has been fined for a “serious breach” of the Data Protection Act following the wide-spread, much-publicised hacking of the PlayStation Network in 2011, reports the BBC.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has confirmed that Sony will be fined £250,000 for failing to secure its customer’s private data privately.
"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," said David Smith, deputy commissioner and director of data protection at the ICO, who also said that “security measures in place were simply not good enough."
The hacking, which took place in April 2011, lead to the leak of personal data from 77 million PSN accounts and took the network offline for almost a month. Sony apologised and users were given compensation in the form of the “Welcome Back” program which offered them free games and PlayStation Plus trials.
The attack is believed to have cost Sony approximately $171 million in total, so a £250,000 fine shouldn’t really have too much affect. Nonetheless, Sony has told the BBC that it will appeal against the decision.