Sony’s network hacked in possible blackmail attempt

Sony’s computer network was hacked in what may be a blackmail attempt, according to sources. The breach of the entertainment and electronics company’s systems is under investigation.

In a statement, Sony said it was investigating "an IT matter." The incident began when a picture of a skull appeared on company computer screens, the entertainment website Deadline. com reported yesterday.

The image was accompanied by a message that read Sony had been hacked by #GOP and that private data would be released at 6pm New York time yesterday if its undisclosed demands were not met.

The hack is being linked to a group called “Guardians of Peace,” sources said.

Masaki Tsukakoshi, a Tokyo-based Sony spokesman, said that both Sony Computer Entertainment and the PlayStation Network were operating as normal without any disturbances.

Many large global companies have fallen prey to computer hackers. JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot and Target Corporation have all been subject to hacks.

In the case of JPMorgan, hackers earlier this year accessed data on 76 million households and seven million small businesses. This month, Home Depot said 53 million e-mail addresses were taken, in addition to the 56 million payment cards that were previously disclosed.

Shares of Sony rose 6.1 per cent to 2,582.5 yen at the close of trade in Tokyo, the highest since April 2011.

The stock has gained 41 per cent this year compared with an 8.2 percent rise in the Topix index. PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network, which enable gamers to play each other and access content, were taken off line by a so-called distributed denial of service attack, the Tokyo-based company said in August.

At the time, the company said it had no evidence that personal information was accessed by computer hackers who drove artificially high traffic to Sony servers, it said. In 2011, Sony’s online-entertainment service was attacked by hackers who gained access to information on 77 million customers. The company was criticised by US politicians after the hacking.

Bloomberg