Sony PlayStation Network Finally Back Up, Gamers Rejoice.

Map Showing Where PlayStation Network is Back Up.

     

     Sony's PlayStation Network, Sony's service that allows PlayStation 3 users to play over the internet against each other, had a data breach around April 20th, were an unknown hacker got access to users information, such as address, email address, phone number, username, and possibly passwords. Regarding credit card numbers, Sony said that the data was encrypted, and they do not think that data was stolen. However, Sony has no way of conforming that data was not stolen.

     This serious data breach led Sony to take the PlayStation Network, as well as it's media-streaming counterpart Qriocity, offline, so that they could completely revamp the system and ensure complete security.

     When Sony first announced the fact that PlayStation Network was going offline, they said it would be down for "A full day or two". That day turned into weeks, and now, about 25 days later, the PlayStation Network goes back online (Along with the new job position at Sony, the Chief Information Security Officer.)

     Many gamers are probably rejoicing right now, as there were a few new gaming titles that came out that weren't even playable yet, because they had to be registered with the PlayStation Network. However, gamers in more than %70 percent of the United States are still left out in the cold, because, as of press time, the only states with the PlayStation Network back up are Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and California. 

     It is nice to know that the PlayStation Network is back online somewhere, even if not in your particular part of the world. Users can now rest peacefully knowing that they will be able to play soon again, and that any identity theft will be covered, free of charge, by Sony, with their free year of identity theft protection to all PlayStaton Network users. (Note to hacker: Wait a year before using all of those credit cards.)

UPDATE: Sony has posted a new map showing that the PlayStation Network is online everywhere, at least in North America. To access the PlayStation Network, you must upgrade the firmware on your PlayStation 3 to 3.6.1, as well as change your password. The PlayStation Store features will be down until the end of the month. The PlayStation Network is still down in Europe and Asia.