Data breaches are constantly making headlines these days, and one of the most serious of recent times was the breach suffered by Sony back in 2011 when the details of nearly a quarter of a million users were accessed on its PlayStation Network.
The seriousness of the breach led the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) handing Sony a huge fine of £250,000 earlier this year, which Sony initially said it would appeal.
However, it has now been announced that Sony has decided not to appeal the fine. Sony has confirmed, however, that it does not agree with the fine, and stated that the only reason it is dropping the appeal is because the process could lead to details about its security procedures being revealed.
The deputy commissioner of the ICO, David Smith, said that the ICO was pleased that Sony had agreed to pay the fine, and said that Sony’s preparation should have been better. He claimed that Sony “had access to both the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe”.
This is a warning to other companies, both large and small, who handle personal customer or employee data. Even though they may not think that they are at fault for losing personal data, they can still be landed with large fines for failing to take precautions.
Image courtesy of renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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- Sony Stops Fighting £250k Breach Fine ‘For Security Reasons’ (techweekeurope.co.uk)
- Facebook Data Leak Reveals Personal Details of Millions of Users (assuredsecurityshredding.co.uk)
