Sony PlayStation Network Is Hacked Again

Sony has revealed another attack by hackers on its PlayStation Network and other online entertainment services.

The Tokyo-based company has temporarily locked around 93,000 accounts whose IDs and passwords were successfully verified by the intruders.

Email notifications and password reset procedures have been sent to affected customers on the PlayStation Network, Sony Entertainment Network and Sony Online Entertainment services.

Sony said credit card numbers linked to the compromised accounts are not at risk. It added it has "taken steps to mitigate the activity" and is investigating any wrongful use of the accounts themselves.

The attack follows a massive and hugely embarassing breach in April when hackers obtained personal data from more than 100 million online gaming and entertainment accounts.

It resulted in the PlayStation Network being shut for a month as Sony dealt with the fallout from the breach and revamped its security.

Sony confirmed the latest incidents after its security systems detected an unusually high number of log-in attempts that failed, a company spokesman said.

It believes that those responsible obtained large amounts of data from other companies or sources which was then used to try to access Sony accounts.

"What happened in April was a breach on our servers," said the spokesman. "This time it was taking someone else's identity and trying to use that to access our services."

Sony said the attacks were carried out between October 7 and 10 on accounts all over the world. It is not known who carried them out.