Congress Asks Sony To Explain PlayStation Network Breach

Following the PlayStation Network breach that has potentially affected 77 million users, Congress is asking Sony to explain itself.

A House of Representatives subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade sent a letter to Kazuo Hirai, Sony's chairman, and asked for a response by May 6.

The letter asks why Sony did not inform customers of the breach, reportedly perpetrated by hackers, until April 26, a week after it occurred. It also questions why the company does not believe credit card information was stolen -- Sony has admitted that the security breach was the result of illegal activity.

"Sony's public statements suggest there is no evidence credit card data was taken, but such a scenario cannot be ruled out," the letter said. "Given the amount and nature of the personal information known to have been taken, the potential harm that could be caused if credit card information was also taken would be quite significant."

According to The New York Times, hackers have been peddling the stolen information in online forums, seeking up to $100,000 for the data.

A list of questions at the end of the letter queries Sony about how it found the breach, when it told the authorities, why it waited on telling its users, what it is doing to prevent such breaches in the future, and more.

Read our guide on how to take precautions to protect yourself in case your personal data was compromised.