The news that over 70 million users of Sony's PlayStation network may have had personal information including credit card details stolen following a hack attack on its online service could cost the business over $100m, says CFC Underwriting.
Business development director Graeme Newman explained: "This breach could easily top the US$100m mark, particularly if credit card data is exposed."
Sony is likely to face a number of costs including IT forensic investigation, notification and credit monitoring and clean-up and repair. It could also face losses from business interruption as a result of the PlayStation network and Qriocity being down for over a week.
Newman continued: "There could be regulatory investigations and you can’t rule out the potential for a class action lawsuit. And if credit card data is affected, then Sony could be subject to fines under their merchant agreements if found to be non-compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards."
