A second Sony network that hosts the “EverQuest” role playing game has been taken down following fears of another hack attack.
Sony said that a subsidiary that makes multiplayer role-playing games mostly for personal computers, had overnight shut down services because of concerns that a hacker had breached its security.
Sony has confirmed that computer hackers have breached security for a second online service, gaining access to personal information for 24.6 million customer accounts as part of a broader attack on the company that has compromised data for more than 100 million accounts.
The company said it doesn’t believe credit-card information on those accounts was accessed, but said hackers may have stolen credit-card data for about 12,700 non-U.S. accounts including Australians and 10,700 bank-account numbers from an “outdated database from 2007”.
Recently Sony closed down their PlayStation Network, after it discovered a hacker had stolen names, birth dates and possibly credit-card numbers from Sony’s PlayStation Network.
Sony said the shutdown of Sony Online Entertainment, which hosts the popular “EverQuest” role-playing game, was prompted by an expansion of the initial investigation.
“We took down SOE’s services as part of our continued investigation into the external intrusion that occurred in April,” said Michele Sturdivant, a Sony Online Entertainment spokeswoman. “This is not a second attack.”
The shutdown is the latest black eye for the Japanese electronics giant, which is still reeling from an attack on the PlayStation Network that it discovered between April 17 and April 19. It shut the game service on April 20, prompting outrage among its predominantly youthful user base.
A week later, the company acknowledged personal information had been stolen, prompting concerns about identity theft and an inquiry from members of the U.S. Congress.
Separately, Sony’s U.S.-based PlayStation unit said on a separate statement on Monday that reports the hackers had tried to blackmail the company by selling millions of allegedly stolen credit card numbers back were untrue.
“To my knowledge there is no truth to this report of a list, or that Sony was offered an opportunity to purchase the list,” Sony spokesman Patrick Seybold said in a statement.
