Sony announces theft of credit card accounts from SOE

Sony has issued a press release that credit card information was compromised from Sony Online Entertainment on April 16-17, which was before the PlayStation Network’s security was invaded, and two days before PSN was taken down.

According to the press release: This information, which was discovered by engineers and security consultants reviewing SOE systems, showed that personal information from approximately 24.6 million SOE accounts may have been stolen, as well as certain information from an outdated database from 2007. The information from the outdated database that may have been stolen includes approximately 12,700 non-U.S. credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates (but not credit card security codes), and about 10,700 direct debit records of certain customers in Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Spain.

The following information was also exposed:

· name

· address

· e-mail address

· birthdate

· gender

· phone number

· login name

· hashed password.

Sony has offered users an additional free month of their currect MMO subscription.