Sony, private investigators, and the FBI are all looking into who hacked the Playstation Network.
The company is consulting with a group called Data Forte, which specializes in investigating cyber crimes. The group is led by a former US federal officer.
Sony has also hired private investigators and consultants from Guidance Software and Protiviti, as well as lawyers from the firm Baker & McKenzie.
Basically, Sony really wants to take down the people who hacked into its online network.
The hack, which compromised personal information from all of the more than 77 million Playstation Network account holders, has forced the longest suspension of PS3 and PSP online services ever.
In addition to all the private investigators hired by Sony, the FBI has said it is looking into the incident. Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal has also reportedly told US Attorney Eric Holder to investigate.
However, not all the focus is on the hackers. Government officials will reportedly look into whether or not Sony was at all negligent with its initial reaction to the hack, as it did not reveal the severity of the attack until several days after it took place.
In addition to compromising the 77 million PSN accounts, hackers also gained access to information from some 24 million subscribers to Sony’s online computer games database, powered by Sony Online Entertainment. The company did not reveal this information until well over a week after the hack.
Also in question is if Sony’s security was inadequate, making the hack easier than it should have been. The company admitted the vulnerability exploited by the hackers was a known vulnerability. Canadiam law firm McPhadden Samac Tuovi has proposed a class-action lawsuit seeking more than $1 billion in damages from Sony.
