PSN Back Online In Asia Tomorrow

Sony has announced that the PlayStation Network will begin restoration in Japan and other Asian countries tomorrow, following an extended outage resulting from an external network attack. On May 28, PSN users in Asian territories will be able to sign in to the PlayStation Network, access PlayStation Home and play online with friends via their PlayStation 3 and PSP. The company noted that it has made "considerable enhancements to the data security", outlining advanced security technologies and additional levels of encryption that have been added since the PSN breach last month. With regards to identity protection, Sony said that it has established a phone hotline for users who believe they have been a victim of credit card fraud as a result of the breach. The company is also willing to bear the expenses to reissue new credit cards to any customer who requests it. The company did not say whether Asian PSN users will be receiving free identity theft insurance, the likes of which was made available to U.S. PSN users earlier in the week. The free games available in the Welcome Back package have been announced for Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, and include the likes of Wipeout HD and The Last Guy on PS3, and LittleBigPlanet and Modnation Racers on PSP. Offers for customers outside of these countries are due to be announced sometime soon. Earlier in the month, Sony was told that it couldn't restart its PlayStation Network services in Japan until it had provided further information regarding the measures it had taken to provide better security for its users.