TORONTO – Following the Christmas Day cyber-attack that took PlayStation’s network offline for days, Sony is trying to make good with gamers by offering a five-day extension on PlayStation Plus memberships.
“Since access to PlayStation Network was impacted during the holidays, we wanted to show our appreciation for your patience by offering all PlayStation Plus members that had an active membership or free trial on December 25th a membership extension of five days,” wrote Eric Lempel, vice president of Sony Network Entertainment, in a blog post.
Sony said players will automatically receive the extension on their accounts when it becomes available.
The company said it also plans to offer gamers a one-time 10 per cent discount towards a PlayStation Store purchase “sometime this month.”
Sony’s PlayStation network was knocked offline, allegedly by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, just as eager gamers were unwrapping new consoles and games on Christmas morning. Microsoft’s Xbox Live network was shut down in a similar attack.
READ MORE: Who is ‘Lizard Squad’ and why do they hack gaming networks?
Hacker group Lizard Squad – who has attacked both PlayStation and Xbox on numerous occasions – has taken responsibility for both attacks.
The group claims it was trying to expose the number of security issues companies like Sony are facing with their networks.
This isn’t the first time Sony has been forced to pony up free content for users.
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In 2011, hackers were able to steal the personal data of 77 million user accounts. To apologize for the attack, Sony offered gamers two free games and was later ordered to pay US$15 million in a class action lawsuit over the data theft.
Lizard Squad still garnering attention following attacks
Meanwhile, the hackers who have claimed responsibility for the attack continue to make headlines around the world.
On Monday, a 22-year-old member of Lizard Squad was reportedly arrested by U.K. law enforcement agents. According to a report by The Daily Dot, Vinnie Omari was arrested “on suspicion of fraud by false representation and Computer Misuse Act offense.”
Omari told The Daily Dot authorities confiscated his Xbox One, computers and phones as evidence. The hacker provided a photo of the search warrant he received as proof.
Finnish police also confirmed they interviewed “Ryan,” who spoke with the media following the attacks claiming to be one of the members of Lizard Squad. However, police denied reports that the teen was arrested.
But, during an interview with the Washington Post, “Ryan” said Lizard Squad gave another hacker group named Guardians of Peace Sony employee logins, which may have been used to execute the massive cyber-attack on Sony Pictures in November.
This may have put “Ryan” at the centre of the wide scale investigation into the Sony hacking scandal, which the FBI is investigating.
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