Sony
HIGH RISKData breach — June 2011
In 2011, Sony suffered breach after breach after breach — it was a very bad year for them. The breaches spanned various areas of the business ranging from the PlayStation network all the way through to the motion picture arm, Sony Pictures. A SQL Injection vulnerability in sonypictures.com lead to tens of thousands of accounts across multiple systems being exposed complete with plain text passwords.
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What happened in the Sony data breach?
In 2011, Sony suffered breach after breach after breach — it was a very bad year for them. The breaches spanned various areas of the business ranging from the PlayStation network all the way through to the motion picture arm, Sony Pictures. A SQL Injection vulnerability in sonypictures.com lead to tens of thousands of accounts across multiple systems being exposed complete with plain text passwords.
The exposed data included 8 types of personal information. Because passwords were exposed, users who reused their password on other sites are at particular risk. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was Sony hacked?
Yes. Sony was breached in June 2011. The breach exposed 37,103 records including dates of birth, email addresses, genders. This breach has been independently verified. If your email was involved, your data may still be at risk today. Check if you were affected.
Why was the Sony breach so dangerous?
The Sony breach exposed 37,103 records — that is a large number of compromised accounts. The combination of dates of birth, email addresses, genders makes this a high-risk breach that requires immediate action.
Because passwords were exposed, attackers can use credential stuffing to automatically test your Sony password against hundreds of other websites. If you reused your password anywhere, those accounts are now at risk. Read more about what happens to your data after a breach.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach now.
What data was stolen in the Sony breach?
Dates of birth — used to verify identity for account takeover and fraud
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Genders — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Names — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Passwords — can be used to access your accounts directly or cracked to reveal your actual password
Phone numbers — enables SIM swapping attacks and targeted SMS phishing scams
Physical addresses — combined with other data, used for identity theft and physical fraud
Usernames — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Is the Sony breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the Sony breach remains dangerous years after the incident. Research shows that over 65% of stolen credentials from older breaches have never been changed by the account holders. Attackers routinely compile data from multiple breaches to build complete profiles, and credentials from 2011 are still actively used in credential stuffing attacks today.
Personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth never expire. Even if you changed your Sony password, the other exposed data can be combined with information from other breaches to target you. Learn more about how long stolen data stays dangerous.
Frequently asked about the Sony breach
Approximately 37,103 user records were exposed in the Sony breach in June 2011.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your Sony password elsewhere and haven't changed it, those accounts remain at risk today.
Enter your email in the free checker on EmailLeaked. We scan 12 billion+ breach records including the full Sony dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your Sony password immediately, change any other account where you used the same password, enable two-factor authentication on all important accounts, and monitor for phishing emails over the next 90 days.
Who was affected by the Sony breach?
The Sony data breach affected approximately 37,103 users who had accounts with the service. While not the largest breach on record, it still represents a significant number of compromised accounts in our database of 970+ known breaches.
If you ever created an account with Sony or used their services, your data may have been included in this breach. Check your email now to find out. You can also read our guide on what to do immediately after a data breach.
If your email was in the Sony breach
Change your Sony password immediately
Go to Sony and change your password right now. Use a strong, unique password that you have never used anywhere else.
Change any account sharing that password
If you used the same password on other sites, change it on every one of them. Attackers test stolen credentials on hundreds of popular sites within hours.
Enable two-factor authentication
Turn on 2FA on Sony and every important account. Even if your password is known, attackers cannot get in without the second factor.
Check your other accounts for this breach
Run a full email check to see every breach your email appears in — not just this one.
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