The fallout from hackers getting into the PSN continues for Sony. In the latest development, Zurich American Insurance has filed court papers in a New York state court against Sony, claiming that the insurance company is not responsible for damages incurred due to digital attacks and information theft. According to Reuters, Zurich is claiming that when the general insurance policies were written for Sony, no clause or intention was ever made to protect the company from digital invasion.
Much like the digital pirating issue at the source of Sony’s troubles, this case proves how untested and volatile electronic rights claims have become. After all, if the digital code belongs to someone as property, then it can be covered by insurance much like a house or car; the question with insurance comes from whether or not information constitutes a new type of property, and therefore, separate, specific insurance.
At the time of this publishing, fifty-five cases have been filed against Sony for various reasons related to the PSN breach, including property damage. This comes from around 12 million possible stolen credit card numbers compromised during the invasion. While relatively few cases have actually occurred of identity theft resulting from the breach, the estimated damage to Sony’s corporation peaks around $178 million dollars.
And that’s only a projection of this year. If things keep spiraling out of Sony’s hands like this case with Zurich, then who knows how this will affect the next few years for Sony. Consumer confidence can be a difficult thing to get back once lost.
Tags: digital rights, gay-nerds, lesbo geeks, PSN hack, Sony, Zurich American Insurance
