Will PlayStation users be without access to the service for another three weeks? According to a Sunday report from Bloomberg, Sony's PlayStation Network and Qriocity online services will be down until at least May 31.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Sony spokesman Shigenori Yoshida said Sony is currently installing an improved security system and will get its services back online by May 31.
Sony's PlayStation Network has been down since April 20, and Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has been offline since May 2. During an April 30 press conference in Tokyo, Sony said it planned to have the services online within a week, but in the wake of the SOE outage, the company said it needed more time.
"We won't restore the services until we can test the system's strength" when it comes to security of the network and the safety of users' data, Sony said in a Friday blog post. "We were unaware of the extent of the attack on Sony Online Entertainment servers, and we are taking this opportunity to conduct further testing of the incredibly complex system."
Also on Friday, Sony said it had discovered and removed a Web site that posted 2,500 names and partial addresses of people who entered a 2001 product sweepstakes. "The website was out-of-date and inactive when discovered as part of the continued attacks on Sony," the company said. Credit card, Social Security numbers, and passwords were not on the list.
Last week, Sony chairman and chief executive Howard Stringer offered a personal apology to those affected and offered a year of free credit monitoring and an ID theft policy since it's possible that the hackers obtained PSN users' credit card data.
CNET, meanwhile, said today that an earlier report about a second planned attack on Sony's networks was likely thwarted.
Analysts have predicted that the hack could cost Sony as much as $1 billion in damages.
In a letter to Congress last week, Sony said it had not yet identified who hacked its network. That letter, however, revealed that there was evidence on the SOE server that the clandestine Web group Anonymous was involved, an accusation the group has denied.
Update: Sony has not provided any updates on service restoration since Friday, but Dean Takahashi with VentureBeat tweeted today that the May 31 date might not be accurate. "Bad information from bloomberg: sony hasn't said it will take until may 31 to fix psn. there is no new info on when service will be back," he wrote. Stay tuned.