Sony sued for Playstation Network Data Breach

The lawsuit filed by the Rothken Law Firm today in California court alleges Sony “failed to take reasonable care to protect, encrypt, and secure the private and sensitive data.”

“We brought this lawsuit on behalf of consumers to learn the full extent of Sony PlayStation Network data security practices and the data loss and to seek a remedy for consumers. We are hopeful that Sony will take this opportunity to learn from the network vulnerabilities, provide a remedy to consumers who entrusted their sensitive data to Sony, and lead the way in data security best practices going forward,” said Ira P. Rothken an attorney who filed the class action complaint.

“Sony’s breach of its customers’ trust is staggering. Sony promised its customers that their information would be kept private. One would think that a large multinational corporation like Sony has strong protective measures in place to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of personal information, including credit card information. Apparently, Sony doesn’t,” commented J.R. Parker, co-counsel in the case.

The lawsuit seeks monetary compensation for the data loss and “loss of use of the Sony PlayStation Network, credit monitoring, and other relief according to proof.”

Forbes cites data-security research firm The Ponemon Institute as estimating the “cost of a data breach involving a malicious or criminal act” was, on average, $318 per compromised account. Given the most recent PSN population estimate, that formula puts the potential cost as being over $24 billion.