Briefs

Sony (SNE) shut down its PlayStation Network and Qriocity online movie and music service after a hacker gained access to 77 million customer accounts worldwide. The security breach, made public on Apr. 26, could strike a blow to Sony's ambitions of luring customers from Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), and other rivals by offering games, movies, and music across its many devices. Spokesman Patrick Seybold declined to reveal how the hacker got into Sony's systems, and it remains unclear whether credit-card information was stolen. The data heist, which security experts say could rank among the largest in recent history, is being investigated by the FBI, according to .

Moscow's traffic jams are legendary, but congestion may ease by next year. Sitronics, the electronics unit of Sistema, a company controlled by billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov, has won a $223 million contract from the Moscow city government to tackle the problem. The contract calls for Sitronics to provide up-to-the-minute traffic-flow information online by the end of 2011. The city's trams and buses will also be outfitted with monitors so commuters can receive accurate information about schedules.