Bloomberg: Sony's Data Breach Could Expose Consumers to Identity Theft Risks for Years (SNE)

The ramifications of Sony's

now-infamous PlayStation Network breech could be felt for years, Bloomberg is reporting Tuesday. The company was forced to shut down its popular PlayStation online network after hackers exploited a security vulnerability and gained access to over data for over 75 million consumers. Sony could not confirm if the hackers stole credit card information. According to the Bloomberg report, "The risk will stay with as many as 100 million customers of Sony's PlayStation Network, Sony Online Entertainment and Qriocity film and music service for years, even as the chance of credit-card fraud recedes, said Steve Ward, a spokesman for Fairfax, Virginia-based online-security company Invincea." “The attackers may have your name, your birth date, potentially your mother's maiden name,” Ward said in the Bloomberg interview. “These are all the things used to check your identity, and that can be used to falsify it.” The New York Times is also reporting that Sony has declined to testify at a Congressional hearing on Wednesday that seeks to understand how consumers' private data is protected by corporations. “There is no evidence that our main credit card database was compromised,” Sony said in a statement to its users. “It is in a completely separate and secured environment.” Shares of Sony

gained $0.49 on Monday, or 1.7%, to $28.80.