Sony has refused to attend a Congressional hearing to discuss a recent security breach that exposed millions of credit card numbers and downed the company’s PSN along with its Online Entertainment division.
Instead, the Japanese-based corporation made do with sending a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives, which termed Sony “the victim” of a “very carefully planned, very professional, highly sophisticated criminal cyberattack” designed to steal personal and credit card information for illegal purposes.
Sony also claimed it had been defending itself from DDoS attacks when the cyber infiltrators executed their hack and extract operation.
“Whether those who participated in the denial-of-services attacks were conspirators or whether they were simply duped into providing cover for a very clever thief, we may never know.”
In addition, the company said a file named “Anonymous” with the text “We Are Legion” had been left behind by the intruders as a digital calling card – despite the fact that the cyber activist group has repeatedly denied responsibility for the incident.
Unsurprisingly, U.S. legislators were rather unimpressed with Sony’s official explanation and incredibly embarrassing failure to appear before Congress.
“[This data breach] has the potential to become the Great Brink’s Robbery of cyberattacks,” said Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), chairwoman of the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee.
“The ‘take’ keeps going up…Like their customers, Sony [is a] victim, too…But [it] also must shoulder some of the blame for these stunning thefts, which shake the confidence of everyone who types in a credit card number and hits enter.”
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), ranking member of the full House Energy and Commerce Committee, expressed similar sentiments and emphasized that “companies have an obligation to inform those individuals whose information was lost or stolen.”
