They have issued a statement claiming that a small number of accounts could have had their passwords altered by unauthorised access. This would leave personal user data and their Store wallet vulnerable to the intruder.

They are quick to point out that no complete records of credit card numbers are held on the Store, so fraud is "very unlikely." How reassuring.

"We have taken immediate measures to rectify this issue and system security is restored," read the statement.

Understandably Sony is working non-stop to contain this breach and prevent further violations, they advise users to check-in with their accounts to allay fears.

"In order to verify that your account is intact, we strongly suggest that PLAYSTATION®Network users sign in to the service. If you can successfully sign in with your pre-set password, your account is not affected by this incident."

This is certainly an embarrassing situation with things heating up between the Xbox360 and PS3 for interactive and online services. Click here to read the official Sony statement.