Wednesday, 27 April 2011 - 5:09pm |
National News

Vigilance needed in online personal information

1 min read

New Zealand Police are warning people to be vigilant following the hacking of millions of Sony PlayStation accounts worldwide.

Sony has confirmed that up to 77 million PlayStation accounts have been hacked and data stolen, including people's names, addresses, email address, birthdates, usernames, passwords, logins, security questions and more.

The information reportedly stolen also includes accounts parents set up for their children.

Detective Senior Sergeant John Michael, Online Child Exploitation Across New Zealand (OCEANZ), Police National Headquarters, says New Zealanders who have accessed Sony PlayStation accounts need to be very vigilant in the weeks ahead.

"I would advise people to contact their banks if they have concerns about unauthorised use of their credit cards.

"Parents of children who have accounts should talk with their kids and alert them to the possible risks following the mass hacking. Computers and electronic gaming networks are a way of life for most of us and while they’re a wonderful tool, they also open up potential risks unless people use them wisely.

“We don’t want to create unnecessary fear, but the sad fact is that by being too free with personal information on the net, children in particular can become vulnerable unless their computer use is supervised.

"We always encourage people to be vigilant in computer use, now more than ever. Think first and be very wary of approaches by telephone, email or social networks, especially if it relates to personal information, including login and credit card details."

Detective Senior Sergeant Michael says the incident is a timely reminder of the risks involved in providing information to electronic networks like this.

Ends

Media contact:
Kaye Calder
Police Public Affairs: Police National Headquarters
Telephone: 04 460 2986
Mobile: 027 241 6305