Electronics giant Sony has announced that on Thursday the company will fully restore all Qriocity services following a lengthy period of downtime which occurred as a result of a massive security breach back in April.
The restoration will see full functionality returning to Qriocity’s Video On Demand and Music Unlimited services across all compatible devices.
In a statement released in Tokyo on Thursday, Sony said it will “fully restore all Qriocity services today June 9, 2011, in all serviced territories, excluding Japan.” It continued: “As a result, all PlayStation Network and Qriocity services which were shut down on April 20 will be available. In addition to full PlayStation Network services as well as “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” for PlayStation 3 (PS3), PSP (PlayStation Portable), VAIO and other PCs which have already resumed, full restoration of Qriocity services will include:
- Full functionality on “Video On Demand powered by Qriocity” across all compatible devices
- Full functionality on “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity” across all compatible devices”
Many of the PlayStation Network and Qriocity services were restored last week, so today’s announcement sees things getting almost back to normal (users in Japan are still being kept waiting for some services).
The April security breach, which saw the details of millions of PlayStation Network and Qriocity users fall into the hands of hackers, has cost the electronics giant somewhere in the region of $170 million. As for its reputation among gamers, only time will tell how that’s been affected, although in a bid to try to placate users affected by the security breach, the company has offered a Welcome Back package which includes various free games and services.
Following the attack by hackers, Sony has spent weeks working on a new security system, and even created a new position within the company – that of Chief Information Security Officer. Whoever took on the role certainly has their work cut out – last week Sony Pictures Entertainment confirmed it had suffered at the hands of LulzSec, a group of hackers that has been gaining increasing attention in recent weeks.
