In April 2011, hackers obtained person information from over 100 million PlayStation Network users and Sony Online Entertainment users including credit, debit, and bank account information. This breach cost Sony and credit card issuers up to a total of $2 billion dollars (Laudon, 2013).
During the time of the breach, security and control were not top priority.
According to this case study Sony was using an older version of Apache Web Server software that was known for its security issues and compromised the security of Sony’s firewall, allowing hacker easy access. As for control, Sony obviously did not have appropriate policies or organizational procedures in place, since the information stolen from their customers was unknown. It also took Sony days to inform their customers of the security breach and they delayed shutting down their servers when they received news of the breach.
This type of work ethic shows a lack of training for management and staff. The management’s decision to not spend the appropriate funds on the needed software, the outdated software, the lack of training for their employees, and their flawed procedures contributed to these problems. If Sony had the proper management and procedures in place, the software would have been up to date and employees would have been more careful with their work.
This breach was one of the worse breaches and not only did Sony lose the trust of their customers, they also lost many customers. Their network was down for several weeks while they tried to fix the problem which resulted in lost revenue. They also had to spend millions of dollars and so did their customers. This breach could have been prevented if Sony would have applied some underlying security measures that put the proper firewalls in place and by using fully updated Web applications. References
The Term Paper on Sony Corporation 3
Sony Corporation is engaged in the development, design, manufacture, and sale of electronic equipment and devices, as well as game consoles and software. It is also engaged in the production and distribution of motion picture, home entertainment, television products, and recorded music. Further, Sony is also engaged in the financial services businesses, including insurance operations through their ...
