Sony believes it was targeted by hackers because it tried to protect its intellectual property, chief executive Howard Stringer told a shareholders' meeting today.
No one has claimed responsibility for the massive April hacking attack in which details on 77 million user accounts were leaked, but many have speculated that the attack was sparked by Sony's efforts to clamp down on unauthorised use of its PlayStation games console.
Sony said at the time that credit card information may have been stolen, sparking lawsuits and casting a shadow over its plans to combine content and hardware products via online services.
The PlayStation Network and Qriocity entertainment services went back online in the US and other regions excluding Asia on May 15th, more than three weeks after it suspended services.
The network was restored in Asia by the end of May.
Hackers also targeted websites affiliated with the company in Canada and Thailand. Intruders accessed data, including names and e-mail addresses, on about 2,000 customers via the Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Canadian website, a day after uncovering an intrusion into a website in Thailand.
Intruders also accessed a Sony unit's website in Greece, compromising the information of about 8,500 customers, days after online-service unit So-net Entertainment Corp said a breach led to the misuse of user names and passwords of 128 customers.
Reuters
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