Sony says people in 59 nations use the PlayStation network. Of the 77 million user accounts, about 36 million are in the U.S. and elsewhere in the Americas, 32 million in Europe, and 9 million in Asia, mostly in Japan.
Purchase history and credit card billing address information also might have been stolen, but the intruder did not obtain the 3-digit security code on the back of cards, Sony said.
Spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka said the company has not received any reports yet of credit card fraud or abuse resulting from the breach.
Shaul said that not having direct proof of credit card information theft should not instill a sense of security, and it could mean Sony just didn’t know what files were touched.
“They indicated that they’re worried about it, which is probably a very strong indication that everything was stolen,” he said.
If the intruder successfully stole credit card data, the heist would rank among the biggest known thefts of financial data.
Recent major hacks included some 130 million card numbers stolen from payment processor Heartland Payment Systems. As many as 100 million accounts were lifted in a break-in at TJX Cos., the chain that owns discount retailers T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, and some 4.2 million card numbers were stolen from East Coast grocery chain Hannaford Bros.
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