Sony CEO Stringer Apologizes, Details Identity Theft Insurance

In a letter posted to the PlayStation Blog, Howard Stringer, the CEO of Sony Corporation, apologized to the PSN and Qriocity user bases and pledged recompense for the recent network security breach. "Let me assure you that the resources of this company have been focused on investigating the entire nature and impact of the cyber-attack we've all experienced and on fixing it. We are absolutely dedicated to restoring full and safe service as soon as possible and rewarding you for your patience. We will settle for nothing less," the letter said. Stringer reiterated the fact that the company believes no credit card information has been misused, and detailed an insurance policy the company is offering to U.S. users to protect them from identity theft -- to the tune of $1 million each. Similar programs will be launched in other territories, he promised. Sony will go through identity protection firm Debix to offer AllClear ID Plus for free to PSN and Qriocity users in the U.S. for 12 months from when an account holder signs up for the program. Activation emails will go out to users over the next few days. In addition to the $1 million in insurance, the ID theft protection includes cyber monitoring and surveillance for users and access to licensed private investigators and identity restoration specialists. "As a company we -- and I -- apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused by this attack. Under the leadership of Kazuo Hirai, we have teams working around the clock and around the world to restore your access to those services as quickly, and as safely, as possible," Stringer added. He also offered apologies and explanations for the company's delay in notifying users, which has caused a great deal of controversy in the preceding days. Sony Computer Entertainment president Kaz Hirai recently laid out a timeline to clarify and explain its moves in this regard. The full text of the letter, as with many of these updates, is published at the official PlayStation.Blog. [UPDATE: Sony also said Thursday night that it took an "important step" in bringing its network services back online. Sony Computer Entertainment America spokesperson Patrick Seybold stated, "Today our global network and security teams at Sony Network Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment began the final stages of internal testing of the new system, an important step towards restoring PlayStation Network and Qriocity services."]