Play Station Network back up

The Play Station Network or PSN has been offline since April 19th due to a security breach by a group of hackers. Allegations and details about the identity of the hackers has been branded around but nothing concrete has been compiled yet. The security breach led to a full scale revamp of the PSN needed and the team at sony have been working on that for the past month.

Today the new firmware patch version 3.61 which is mandatory to ensure safety on the network was made available on the network as it went live again. In addition to the firmware update all users are being encouraged and directed to change passwords.It is hoped that security will now remain strong and allow the Play Station 3 to recover its tarnished image. The past few weeks have been hell for Sony and all across the UK the number of trade-ins of PS3’s for Xbox 360’s has risen sharply.

This is the official statement released by Sony:

“We have been working on a new PS3 system software update that requires all PSN users to change their password once PlayStation Network is restored. The update (v3.61) is mandatory and is available now. If using a PS3, your password can only be changed on your own PS3 (or a PS3 on which your PSN account was activated), as an added layer of security. If you have never downloaded any content using your account on the system, an email will be sent to the registered sign-in ID (email address) associated with your account when you first attempt to sign-in to PSN. This e-mail will contain a link that will enable you to change your password. In this email, click on the link and follow the instructions to change your password. Once you have changed your password you can sign-in to your account using your new password.
We strongly recommend that all PSN account holders with PS3s update their systems to prepare for when PlayStation Network is back online. The release of this update is a critical step as we work to make PlayStation Network significantly more secure. Thank you for your continued support and patience.”

If you own a PS3 still…..GAME ON! 🙂