Sony hires security firms as FBI probes breaches

Beleaguered Japanese technology giant Sony has hired a team of cyber-detectives to probe the security breaches that exposed the personal data of more than 100m gamers and led to the closure of its online operations.
 
Investigators from well-known security companies including Guidance Software and Data Forte have been brought on board to help Sony as it tries to establish what went wrong and secure its networks.

The FBI is also said to be looking into the data breach, which could have included the theft of credit card numbers, as the company comes under pressure from US politicians. Meanwhile a class action lawsuit has been filed in Canada.
 
The problem first emerged last week when Sony revealed that the details of 77 million PlayStation users could have been stolen by hackers in a massive security breach.
 
The first attack was on Sony's PlayStation gaming network, which allows users to download PlayStation games and play against each other.
 
Then this week it emerged that the details of a further 25 million members of the Sony Online Entertainment network had also been compromised. That service allows people to play games on the internet, including those hosted on Facebook, using their home computers rather than a PlayStation console.
 
It is thought both breaches took place in the middle of April and were the work of one person or group. However, the second attack was only noticed at the weekend as the company investigated the PlayStation hack.
 
Both the PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment have been closed down as a result of the thefts. Sony says that the information that the hackers accessed came from an "outdated database" from 2007, although that announcement has prompted further questions about why they had not deleted it.
 
Two of the security firms, Guidance Software and Data Forte, are said to be experts in digital forensics, and a third company Protiviti specialises in risk auditing. Credit card companies Mastercard and Visa are also likely to have hired their own investigators.
 
Sony has also recruited law firm Baker & McKenzie as part of its investigation. And, as usual, it could be the lawyers who end up the winners after it was revealed that a class action lawsuit has been launched in Canada that could cost Sony $1bn. ·