PlayStation Network Compromised — SOE Not Affected

In the wake of Sony’s PlayStation Network being totally inaccessible for 6 days, following by the news that the entire system had been compromised (all names, addresses, phone numbers, other personal info, and possibly all credit card information on file), naturally players of Sony Online Entertainment games such as EQ, EQ2, PlanetSide, DC Universe Online, Vanguard, FreeRealms, etc. have been wondering if any of their information was compromised.

Here’s what we know:

• SOE’s Account Services and Customer Databases are separate from the PlayStation Network and were not compromised.

• Double StationCash and other Player Events are being scheduled for this upcoming April 30th weekend to “make it right” due to EverQuest2.com and other services being down over the last weekend.

On April 22nd, SOE took down EQ2 and other SOE-related websites and services out of an abundance of caution due to the PSN compromise. From Brasse:

As a result of an external intrusion on its system, SOE interrupted its services on April 21. Promptly upon learning of the intrusion, SOE initiated an investigation and took corrective steps to bring its games and other services back up.

and later:

We are working hard on bringing all of our player sites back online, but have no ETA at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for bearing with us!

Fortunately, SOE’s account database and customer information are separate from PSN’s and thus were not compromised. Brasse:

We wanted to update you on the status of our examination of the SOE system intrusion we announced last week.   We have been conducting a thorough investigation and, to the best of our knowledge, no customer personal information got out to any unauthorized person or persons.  We are continuing that investigation and monitoring the situation carefully; should the situation change, we will — of course – promptly notify you.

and Ashlanne:

SOE’s systems and databases are separate from PSN’s.

As you probably know, EverQuest2.com has been inaccessible on and off for the past 4 days. So regarding Double StationCash and other events, from Brasse on the EQ2 Forums:

We apologize for any inconvenience players may have experienced as a result of the recent service interruption. As a global leader in online gaming, SOE is committed to delivering stable and entertaining games for players of all ages.

To thank players for their patience, we will be hosting special events this weekend across our game portfolio, including a Double Station Cash day on Saturday, April 30th.

We are also working on a “make good” plan for players of the PS3 versions of DC Universe Online and Free Realms. Details will be available soon on the individual game websites and forums.