Sony May Resume U.S.-Based Online Games Early Next Week

Sony Corp (NYSE:SNY) is considering resuming its U.S.-based online games service on Tuesday, following a massive security breach last month, Kyodo news agency said on Friday.

The consumer electronics giant was forced to close down its PlayStation games network and its PC-based online gaming network after discovering that hackers had accessed personal details on more than 100 million user accounts last month.

Sony spokeswoman Yoshiko Uchiyama declined to confirm the report, saying only that the company was still targeting the end of May for restoration of all services worldwide.

The company has been gradually restoring access, starting with its PlayStation network in the United States, after it fell victim to one of the biggest cyber attacks ever. Sony has since come under fire for lax security and for not disclosing the breach sooner.

Shares in Sony closed up 0.3% on Friday at 2,221 yen against a 0.1% dip in the benchmark Nikkei average .