Skip to main content

Sony hires former Homeland Security officer in wake of Playstation data breach

Things seem to be getting back on track with Sony’s Playstation 3 empire in the wake of this year’s catastrophic data breach, and now the company is taking some interesting steps to prevent such an incident from happening again.

According to Reuters, Sony Corp has hired former U.S. Department of Homeland Security officer Philip Reitinger, who previously served as director of the U.S. National Cyber Security Center. Reitinger will become the company’s new chief information security officer —- a position created in the aftermath of a cyber attack that released information from 100 million Playstation Network user accounts.

Recommended Videos

“Certainly the network issue was a catalyst for the appointment,” stated a Sony spokesman. “We are looking to bolster our network security even further.”

While the value of Sony shares has fallen dramatically since the attack was revealed in April, Sony CEO Howard Stringer recently reported that the Playstation Network has added more than three million new subscribers since the gaming service came back online.

Last month, Sony announced plans to cut $50 from the price of its Playstation 3 consoles, and with the upcoming release of Playstation-exclusive Resistance 3 receiving positive early reviews, the digital giant could indeed be turning the corner.

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Sony’s new PlayStation earbuds are a perfect match — for my Nintendo Switch
Sony's Pulse Explore earbuds sit next to a Nintendo Switch OLED.

If you’re the kind of PlayStation loyalist who buys every add-on Sony puts out, 2023 may have been a pricey year for you. We’ve gotten the DualSense Edge, PlayStation VR2, a brand new PS5 model, and the PlayStation Portal -- but that’s not all. Sony is refreshing its audio offerings on top of all that, starting with the Pulse Explore next month.

Sony’s new wireless earbuds are built with PlayStation devices in mind. They use a new PlayStation Link connection system, which is built to easily pair them with the PlayStation 5. That tech actually replaces Bluetooth entirely on the new PlayStation Portal, which means that the Pulse Explore will be one of the only ways to get wireless audio on the handheld this year. It’s a sign that Sony is getting more aggressive about building a dedicated PlayStation ecosystem, Apple-style. It doesn’t just want you to buy Sony consoles, but all of the black-and-white accessories that go with them too.

Read more
Sony’s cloud handheld, the PlayStation Portal, will only stream certain games
Astro's Playroom booting up on the PlayStation Portal.

Sony has unveiled the price for its upcoming cloud gaming handheld, as well as an official name for the device: PlayStation Portal. However, one significant caveat to its functionality might sour people's interest in the handheld: It only supports PS4 and PS5 native games that the owner purchased.
PlayStation VR2 games can't be streamed to PlayStation Portal, which does make sense. More bafflingly, though, is the fact that the PlayStation Blog post states that "games that are streamed through PlayStation Plus Premium’s cloud streaming are not supported." That means you shouldn't pick up PlayStation Portal expecting to stream some PS3 and PS4 games available through PlayStation Plus Premium to the device. That's certainly an odd omission when it's currently PlayStation's most notable cloud gaming effort.
Although Microsoft is more closely associated with cloud gaming, Sony beat it to releasing a dedicated cloud gaming device. PlayStation Portal was first teased as Project Q during May's PlayStation showcase, but now, a PlayStation Blog post more clearly explains what we can actually expect from the handheld. Most importantly, we learned that PlayStation Portal will cost $200, which puts it underneath the cost of a Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series S, and other cloud gaming devices like the Logitech G Cloud Handheld.
As for what you're getting for that price tag, it's essentially a decent screen attached to two halves of a DualSense controller. The controllers on each side share all the functionality of the DualSense, including things like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. In-between is an 8-inch LCD screen that streams games over Wi-Fi at up to a 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second. All in all, that's fairly solid for a cloud gaming handheld that is this cheap.
Sony confirmed that the PlayStation Portal will have a 3.5mm audio jack, but also used the same blog post to unveil two new wireless audio options. There's the Pulse Elite wireless headset that features a retractable boom mic and a charging hanger and Pulse Explore wireless earbuds that offer similar audio quality in earbud form.
None of these products are available for preorder or have a specific release date just yet, but they are all expected to launch before the end of the year.

Read more
Sony revives a PlayStation 2 deep cut as a PS VR2 launch title
Fireworks explode in Fantavision 202X.

Sony announced a new batch of games coming to the PlayStation VR2, including a handful of titles that'll launch with the hardware on February 22. The most notable game on that list is Fantavision 202X, a left-field revival of one of the PlayStation 2's most peculiar launch games.

The announcement comes from a new Sony blog post focused on Japanese-developed games coming to PS VR2. The post includes five games, four of which are newly announced launch titles for the tech. Fantavision, which launches February 22, especially stands out as it has some historical significance for PlayStation fans.

Read more