PlayStation Network Shutdown Due to "External Intrusion" Confirms Sony

Sony representative confirms reasons for PSN outage.

Sony has confirmed via their official blog that the PlayStation Network outage was as a result of a "external intrusion". The shutdown has also impacted the Qriocity service.

Patrick Seybold, Senior Director of Corporate Communications at Sony Computer Entertainment America said the following,

"An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. In order to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services going forward, we turned off PlayStation Network & Qriocity services on the evening of Wednesday, April 20th."

Sony reassured users that they are doing everything they can to restore service.

"We are doing all we can to resolve this situation quickly, and we once again thank you for your patience. We will continue to update you promptly as we have additional information to share."

A timeframe for service return was not given.

Update: In a separate post earlier today, Seybold revealed the company is "rebuilding" their infrastructure.

"Our efforts to resolve this matter involve re-building our system to further strengthen our network infrastructure. Though this task is time-consuming, we decided it was worth the time necessary to provide the system with additional security."