Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer was asked to step down at a recent shareholders meeting, reports Reuters. The shareholder said it would allow the company to make a fresh start after the PlayStation Network attacks, but Stringer didn't respond directly. He did, however, claim the hack was retaliation for its suit against the PlayStation 3 hacker George Hotz.

"We believe that we first became the subject of attack because we tried to protect our IP (intellectual property), our content, in this case video games," he said. Stringer also pointed out the wide array of hacks we've seen over the last few weeks. "I think you see that cyber terrorism is now a global force, affecting many more companies than just Sony. If hackers can hack Citibank, the FBI and the CIA, and yesterday the video game company Electronic Arts, then it's a negative situation that governments may have to resolve."

The hacker group Anonymous did state its intentions to target Sony as retaliation for the suit against Hotz, but the group apologized and halted DDoS attacks over a week before the hacks took place. Sony claims that the hackers left evidence implicating Anon.

For the most part Stringer hasn't been personally involved in dealing with the hack. He's issued a formal apology, but insists that the company acted quickly in response to the attack.

Executive Deputy President Kaz Hirai is expected to take Stringer's seat whenever he does retire, but it's uncertain if this hacking incident will speed up the process.