Sony's Internet service in Japan gets hacked, points stolen

NEW YORK/HELSINKI (Reuters) - Sony Corp has been hacked again.

So-Net, the Internet service provider unit of Japan's Sony, alerted customers that an intruder broke into its system and stole virtual points from account holders worth $1,225.

This latest setback comes after personal information of some 100 million Sony user accounts was stolen last month when its online gaming systems, the PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment, were hacked.

"What we've done is stopped the So-Net points exchanges and told customers to change their passwords," So-Net said in a statement to customers on its website in Japanese.

About 100,000 yen ($1,225) was stolen from accounts that were attacked. The company said there was no evidence that other accounts in the online system had been hacked.

"At this point in our investigations, we have not confirmed any data leakage. We have not found any sign of a possibility that a third party has obtained members' names, address, birth dates and phone numbers."

Security experts have told Reuters that Sony's networks around the world remain vulnerable to attack.

Sony in the U.S. could not immediately be reached on Friday.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the story.

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York and Ritsuko Ando in Helsinki)