Sony deputy president Kaz Hirai has called for joint worldwide effort to counter growing cyber attacks.
In an interview for the Guardian, Hirai said that in today’s world all companies and organisations in the Web world are victims of cyber attacks, regardless of design, security and software architecture.
Sony was a victim of a massive security breach in April. Subsequently a few other networks of the Japanese electronics company were also attacked.
Dismissing reports that the PlayStation Network (PSN) hack could have been avoided if it had been a closed system like Xbox Live, Hirai said, "Just generally speaking, whether it’s PSN or any other non-Sony services, in the past week several companies and organisations also got hacked as well. I think there are reports that the FBI got hacked."
He said that the cyber attack problem is bigger than perceived and involves "any and all companies, organisations and entities that deal in the online space – which is pretty much everyone."
Hirai said in the interview that cyber attacks were threats to the fabric of society and needed a counter coordinated worldwide action, including legislation.
He said, "It’s a threat, not just to Sony or a couple of other companies, but to the very fabric of society. Therefore it requires individuals and companies to be very vigilant, which goes without saying, and we need help from various government, various enforcement agencies and legislation in certain instances as well. And this needs to be a worldwide effort.
Hirai also denied that the company was slow to inform users about the attack which compromised personal and sensitive information of over a million of users across the world. He said that the company took one week to gather enough information that was credible at the time before it made any announcements.
Hirai said the company is working with the FBI and other authorities to track the culprits of the hack which is believed to be that biggest in the online history. He added that the company has done everything it could to protect consumers’ data before restoring the network.
