British regulators have fined Sony 250,000 pounds for the infamous global PlayStation Network breach that took place on the service back in 2011, which placed the personal information of millions of users at risk.
The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has decided to hold Sony accountable for the cyber attack that compromised over 77 million members of the PlayStation Network.
According to the report, the ICO says that if Sony's security measures were up to date, the breach could have been prevented.
David Smith, Deputy Commissioner and Director of Data Protection, said in the report: "If you are responsible for so many payment card details and log-in details then keeping that personal data secure has to be your priority. In this case that just didn't happen, and when the database was targeted - albeit in a determined criminal attack - the security measures in place were simply not good enough."
He went on to say that there's no way of disguising that Sony that should have known better and that the company had access to both "the technical knowledge and the resources to keep this information safe."
Smith said that the penalty issued to Sony is substantial, but that the ICO has never seen a case as series as the PSN breech. According to Smith the cyber attack "directly affected a huge number of consumers, and at the very least put them at risk of identity theft."
He also cautioned consumers to take better safeguards when providing their personal details to other websites.
"If there's any bright side to this it's that a PR Week poll shortly after the breach found the case had left 77 per cent of consumers more cautious about giving their personal details to other websites," Smith said. "Companies certainly need to get their act together but we all need to be careful about who we disclose our personal information to."
Sony has since rebuilt the PlayStation Network to better guard against external intrusions and cyber attacks. You can read the entire report from ICO Here and watch David Smith's comments on the Sony breech in the video below.