Sony had to shut down the entire PlayStation Network due to an “external intrusion.”
The PlayStation Network completely went down this week, prompting speculation that faceless hacking group Anonymous may have been to blame. Though Anonymous denied any such accusations, Sony has admitted that the downtime is definitely the result of an outside force.
Sony’s Patrick Seybold wrote on the PlayStation Blog: “An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. In order to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services going forward, we turned off PlayStation Network & Qriocity services on the evening of Wednesday, April 20th.”
The shutdown is notable as it means nobody can play online, but users also can’t purchase games, movies, or DLC from the PSN. This “external intrusion” is affecting far more than Sony as a singular entity.
Anonymous is known for having various internal groups with their own motives, so despite denying responsibility, it still could be to blame. The organization reportedly attacked Sony earlier this year as retaliation for its lawsuit against PS3 hacker George “GeoHot” Hotz, and this could be a second salvo.
Seybold adds that Sony is still working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Seybold will let us know any further details when they’re available. As for now, the PSN is projected to be down for another couple of days.
Source: PS Blog
