It’s been five years since a PlayStation Network intrusion brought Sony’s online gaming service down for more than three week. The result left user data exposed and cost the company $170 million.
Sony is now ready to implement two-factor authentication, a process that helps safeguard user accounts from theft. When using that form of login, users need to provide a code separate from a password and generated on demand.
This can be delivered via text message or using a special smartphone or desktop application. Blizzard uses one for its games, as does EA for its PC Origin service and Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Sony confirmed to Polygon that it will be implementing the practice after user images showed up online with evidence. The note about two-factor authentication appears as part of a firmware update distributed yesterday, but only when credentials are rejected.
Sony has not committed to specific timing for the rollout of its two-factor authentication feature. However, the firmware is now primed for when that happens.
