Millions of Sony PlayStation users have been warned that their personal information, including credit card details, may have been stolen.
Gamers have been locked out of the network for a week, but owner Sony revealed today that the system has been down since it was hacked last Wednesday.
Sony said it discovered that between April 17 and 19, there was an 'illegal and unauthorised' intrusion of its network and warned users to look out for telephone and e-mail scams.
Names, PlayStation log-in details and e-mail addresses are also thought to have been taken by the hackers. 'While there is no evidence that credit card data was taken at this time, we cannot rule out the possibility,' a Sony statement said.
Sony said it had hired an outside security firm to investigate what happened and has taken steps to rebuild its system to provide greater protection for personal information.
PlayStation members are required to submit credit card and personal details to play online games and download software, films and music. There are 70 million users worldwide.
PlayStation Network posted an apology to users through the Sony website, saying it would e-mail those who are suspected to be victims of the hacking.
The Data Protection Commissioner, Billy Hawkes, said the incident involving online customers of Sony PlayStation highlighted the dangers faced when people give information online.
He said PlayStation customers should use a different password from now on, as it is possible a hacker would use information to hack into other accounts a person may have.
Mr Hawkes also said Sony had taken the correct measures by informing customers of the security breach and telling them what to do to protect themselves.
