Sony has hired a new chief information security officer months after the string of hacks, which exposed 100 million user accounts, indicating the company's heightened emphasis on protecting its data.
The Japanese company said Philip Reitinger, previously director of the U.S. Homeland Security's National Cyber-Security Center, is set to become senior vice president.
Reitinger, a lawyer with an undergraduate degree in engineering and computer science, said he will start a formal review of Sony's computer networks. The former Microsoft security manager will oversee privacy and Internet security across Sony's broad range of businesses.
At Homeland Security, Reitinger, a deputy undersecretary overseeing cyber-security and computer crimes, playing a key role in the Obama administration's push to bolster U.S. cyber-security defenses.
The 49 year-old Reitinger arrives at Sony two months after the electronics giant announced it will restore online purchases of game content and videos-on-demand from the PlayStation Network and Qriocity music service in Japan.
The restoration marks the final step to full service after an 11-week shutdown of video game services after hackers stole data from nearly 100 million accounts, one of the largest data breaches to date.
After the initial attack, Sony contended with a barrage of hacks to its websites and information systems, including a series of smaller intrusions in May, affecting its Greek, Canadian, Thai and Indonesian websites.
The wave of data intrusions in addition to Sony's lagging response in informing and protecting customers caught regulators' eyes and prompted them to invite the company for an appearance at a U.S. Congressional hearing.
After the hearing, Sony attempted to shore up its battered reputation by offering customers a free year of credit card monitoring, distributing free games to customers, and announcing the creation of the chief information security officer post.
The attacks against Sony coincided with security breaches against other companies and governmental agencies, causing them too to fortify their responses to hackers' increasing boldness and make cyber security a stronger priority.
The hackers responsible for the original April breach are still at large, according to Sony. Hacktivist collective Anonymous initially claimed responsibility for a series of distributed denial-of-service attacks that crippled Sony servers, but said it stole no data in subsequent breaches. Sony is working with authorities like the FBI to identify the attackers as the search for suspects continues.
"Certainly the network issue was a catalyst for the appointment," a Sony spokesman said. "We are looking to bolster our network security even further."
