Sony's Legal Woes Have Only Just Begun

(Posted on 04/05/11)

Still reeling from its announcement that as many as 77 million subscribers had their information compromised, Sony announced on Tuesday that the number has climbed by another 25 million, putting the count at well over 100 million compromised accounts. Now, global concerns are quickly emerging and if Sony's stockholders are feeling a bit overwhelmed, they're not showing it.

During its latest efforts of defining the parameters to the intrusion, Sony investigators realized their numbers from April 16th and 17th were underestimated. Further, not only was names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers compromised, but the financial repercussions could send the conglomerate into a tail spin. Further, it announced that at least 12,700 "non-U.S." credit or debit card numbers, along with the expiration dates, have been compromised. This has many in the U.K. wondering just who really is in jeopardy. This, of course, means debit card users now have to worry about the safety of the bank accounts.

Late last week, financial officials in both the U.K. and Ireland began their own investigations.

Despite claims that the company "notified customers as quickly as it could", it was revealed officials had knowledge up to a week before any announcement was made.

It's already been said that this is likely the biggest credit card fraud to ever occur in the United States; questions now are looming on just how much of an impact it will have on UK consumers.

It could cost credit card companies "several million" in replacement fees associated with replacing suspect credit cards. Sony is also facing "tens of millions" in costs. The company is being bombarded with phone calls from customers around the world who are concerned about the safety of their information.

Regardless of how this plays out, there's no denying the long term and long reaching repercussions. American lawsuits have already begun and solicitors throughout the UK are closely monitoring the situation as well. For now, big banks around the world are saying they're not seeing any suspicious activity, though it's possible the damage won't be known for days.