Sony exec will appear before U.S. congress

After declining a request to appear before the U.S. Congress at the beginning of May, Sony Computer Entertainment America has now agreed to send Tim Schaaf, President of Sony Network Entertainment International, to a hearing on June 2. The hearing will focus largely on online security and data theft prevention, so Sony's input regarding the recent Playstation Network (PSN) debacle will surely be helpful. 

For anyone unfamiliar with the situation, here are the CliffsNotes: PSN, Sony's online service for the PS3, was hacked and taken offline April 20, and stayed down for three weeks. During that time, approximately 77 million users' personal data, including credit card information, was compromised. Many users were understandably outraged, and Sony has since tried to make amends by publicly apologizing and offering free games and other perks.


At first glance, this seems like Sony's in deep trouble, but looking a bit closer reveals that this is an informal hearing and Sony's experience will help guide lawmakers in crafting new security legislation. While Sony previously turned down Congress' invitation, the company was required to answer 13 "very particular" questions regarding the PSN breach, to which it replied in writing May 17. 


The reason given for not attending the previous hearing was that Sony was currently involved in an “ongoing intensive investigation and management of this criminal cyberattack.”


Sony won't be the only corporation sending representatives to the June 2 hearing. Epsilon, a company that handles email addresses for many major corporations, has agreed to send General Counsel Jeanette Fitzgerald. Epsilon also experienced a recent security breach, exposing many users' private information. 


The hearing will be headed by Representative Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), Chairwoman of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade.


“While Chairman Bono Mack remains critical of Sony’s initial handling of the data breaches, she also is appreciative that the company has now agreed to testify,” said Ken Johnson, senior advisor and spokesman for Bono Mack. “The Chairman firmly believes that the lessons learned from both the Sony and Epsilon experiences can be instructive and guide us as we develop comprehensive data protection legislation.”