Sony has given the US Congress a two finger salute, by declining to allow their executives testify in person at a US Congressional hearing into the threat of data theft to consumers.This is the same company that failed to notify users for several days, that hackers had attacked their Playstation Network getting access to millions of user’s confidential information as well as credit card details.
US Congress representative Mary Bono Mack, the chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, asked Sony to answer a set of simple questions and attend the hearing.
Ken Johnson, senior adviser and spokesman for Representative Mack, said Sony declined to testify at the hearing citing “an ongoing investigation” it is conducting with law enforcement.
Sony insiders are claiming that Sony is in fear that compromising information may come out that could lead to a negligence claim against the Japanese company. Instead of an open hearing Sony wants the committee to submit written questions so that their lawyers can answer the questions.
Last week Sony’s PlayStation Network was infiltrated by hackers who gained access to confidential information relating to 77 million registered users.
The New York Times said that the subcommittee sent a letter to Sony on Friday asking the company to answer a number of questions related to the attack by May 6. After Sony declined to testify to the committee, the deadline to respond to questions was pushed up to May 3.
“We’ve taken a pretty tough line with the company, and they have agreed to provide answers to all of our questions by close of business tomorrow,” Johnson said. “While we understand the company is going through a tough time with this, there are certain questions that need answering.”
Although Sony said its users’ credit card information was encrypted on its servers, hackers claimed to have access to 2.2 million credit cards and were hoping to sell them on a underground hacker networks. The committee has asked Sony to divulge what type of personal information was actually taken during the attack.
