Sony has announced that it will begin restoring its online PlayStation video game network on Sunday.

索尼公司宣称将于本周日恢复在线PS电子游戏网络。

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Sony discovered a breach in the PlayStation Network on 20 April
The phased restoration of services will begin in the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.

The move comes more than three weeks after Sony discovered a huge security breach that led to the theft of personal data from millions of users.

The firm said its expects to have the network, including Qriocity services, fully² restored by the end of May.

The restoration of Japanese and Asian services would begin soon, it added.

'Aggressive action'

Sony said it had implemented³（实施，执行） "new and additional security measures" that would provide users with better protection.

These were designed in conjunction with a number of external security firms, the company said, and include increased encryption（加密） levels and additional firewalls.

"I'd like to send my sincere apologies for the inconvenience this incident has caused you, and want to thank you for all the kind patience you've shown as we worked through the restoration process," said Kazuo Hirai, Sony's executive deputy president.

He added the company was taking "aggressive action" to resolve the security issues and was making "consumer protection a full-time⁴, company-wide commitment".

The company said it would be offering a "welcome back" package to users that included some "premium⁵ content".

Sony first discovered the security breach, which led to the theft of personal data from 100m online accounts, on 20 April.

Many users were upset about the company taking two days to contact the police and almost a week to inform those people affected⁶.

Sony hired outside specialist cyber-security firms to investigate the breach, and earlier this month blamed the online vigilante group Anonymous⁷ for indirectly⁸ allowing it.

The group has denied being involved in the theft.