As you may or may not have heard, Sony’s PlayStation Network has been compromised through illegal intrusion by an external entity that has managed to acquire user information stored in PlayStation Network accounts.
What this means is that, if you have an account on the PlayStation Network, the following information pertaining to you is now viewable by this entity: name, address (city, state, zip), country, e-mail address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID.
Information pertaining to your profile data, purchase history and password security answers, too, is at risk, and so is your credit card information if your PlayStation Network account has access to it.
In response to the intrusion, Sony have temporarily shut down the PlayStation Network while they attempt to rebuild their backend to enhance security. They hope to have certain services restored within a week.
U.S. residents can learn more about the situation and preventing credit card theft here. Additionally, some of the common questions pertaining to the situation have been answered on the European PlayStation blog. Provided you have a PSN account, you can also expect an e-mail report from Sony in the near future.
