Sony Corp. (6758), which had previously said its Playstation network would resume normal operations by the weekend, has delayed the relaunch of its popular gaming service.

Sony has shut down by its Playstation network for more than two weeks already after a security breach in its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services.

"[W]e have teams working around the clock and around the world to restore your access to those services as quickly, and as safely, as possible," Sony CEO Howard Stringer said in a May 5 statement."In the coming days, we will restore service to the networks and welcome you back to the fun."

However, a May 6 statement by Patrick Seybold, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media, of Sony said, "As you may know, we've begun the process of restoring the service through internal testing of the new system. We're still working to confirm the security of the network infrastructure, as well as working with a variety of outside entities to confirm with them of the security of the system. Verifying the system security is vital for the process of restoration. Additional comprehensive system checks and testing are still required, and we must complete that process before bringing the systems online.

Sony said last week its global network and security teams at Sony Network Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment began the final stages of internal testing of the new system, an important step towards restoring PlayStation Network and Qriocity services.

The new system has more firewalls and additional software that should alert system administrators about suspicious activity.Sony also said that it has launched a program for U.S. PlayStation Network and Qriocity customers that includes a $1 million identity theft insurance policy per user.

"As you've heard us say, our utmost priorities are the security of the network and ensuring your data is safe. We won't restore the services until we can test the system's strength in these respects," Mr. Seybold added in his May 6 statement.

"When we held the press conference in Japan last week, based on what we knew, we expected to have the services online within a week. We were unaware of the extent of the attack on Sony Online Entertainment servers, and we are taking this opportunity to conduct further testing of the incredibly complex system. We know many of you are wanting to play games online, chat with your friends and enjoy all of the services PlayStation Network and Qriocity services have to offer, and trust me when I say we're doing everything we can to make it happen. We will update you with more information as soon as we have it. We apologize for the delay and inconvenience of this network outage."

Members of the Sony network detected unauthorized activity in its network system on April 19 and discovered the next day that that data of some kind had been transferred off the Playstation Network servers without authorization. Sony's general counsel provided the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation about the intrusion on April 22.

Sony said that the hackers stole personal information -- including names and e-mail addresses -- from all of the approximately 77 million Playstation Network and Qriocity service accounts. Sony notified consumers on April 26 that their personal information had been taken and that the company "could not rule out the possibility that credit card data had been stolen as well."

Sony stated in its letter to the U.S. Congress that globally, 12.3 million account holders had credit card information on file. In the U.S., approximately 5.6 million had credit card information.

Over the weekend, the company's Sony Electronics unit disclosed that personal information of 2,500 participants in a 2001 product competition had been posted by hackers on a Web site.Troubled electronics giant promptly took down the site.

Some analysts believe that the security problems could cost Sony more than $1 billion.

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