To say that Sony and it's PSN service has hit a rough patch that last few days is somewhat of an understatement. What some are calling as the biggest digital security breach in the history of the internet has been nothing but one giant public relations nightmare, causing mass confusion for both Sony and it's consumers. Today in Japan, Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai held a press conference to address everyone's concerns and shine some much needed light on the situation. Like a political leader addressing a nation in a time of crisis, Hirai broke down the severity of the breach, and what Sony's plans will be moving forward. Hit the read more for details.

Among the changes is the addition of a brand new position at Sony, Chief Information Security Officer, and who ever it is that takes that position will be reporting directly to Shinji Hasejima, the Chief Information Officer of Sony Corporation. According to the press release sent out by Sony, the electronics giant will be working closely with law enforcement to track down who's at fault for these "criminal" acts, with plans to "prosecute those responsible for the illegal intrusion." Sony has been working around the clock with the help of multiple security firms to track down the breach and ensure they can do everything in their power to prevent something like this from happening again, moving to a new data center is among the measures being taken. Thankfully Sony has set a timetable of "this week," for PSN's return. Here's a quick rundown of some services making their triumphant return when the service comes back online:

  • Restoration of Online game-play across the PlayStation®3 (PS3) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems-This includes titles requiring online verification and downloaded games
  • Access to Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity for PS3/PSP for existing subscribers
  • Access to account management and password reset
  • Access to download un-expired Movie Rentals on PS3, PSP and MediaGo
  • PlayStation®Home
  • Friends List
  • Chat Functionality

For those of you wondering if this outage will lead to some free stuff (as consumer inconveniences usually do), we have some great news for you! Sony will be offering a "Welcome Back" appreciation program where they will educate consumers about ways of making sure they aren't the victims of identity theft and they will also be offering some free services and incentives. Here's a quick list of what's being offered.

  • Each territory will be offering selected PlayStation entertainment content for free download. Specific details of this content will be announced in each region soon.
  • All existing PlayStation Network customers will be provided with 30 days free membership in the PlayStation Plus premium service. Current members of PlayStation Plus will receive 30 days free service.
  • Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity subscribers (in countries where the service is available) will receive 30 days free service.

You can all now rest easy knowing that we will all be back online within days. For those of you going through withdrawal, we're right here with you. Make sure to keep it locked on DualShockers as we'll have commemorative "I survived the 2011 PSN Services intrusion" T-Shirts for sale. (Just kidding.)

[PS Blog]