Image courtesy of digitaltrends
I’m still not really sure how I feel about the Playstation Network being hacked – which we have covered here, here, here, here and here – but I can say that I’ll fully be accepting Playstation’s good-natured apology. Good service is hard to come by these days but Sony is all over it by offering a free year of “AllClear ID PLUS” Credit and Identity theft protection to all members of the PSN and Qriocity. This isn’t all that bad considering it’s the first time I’ve seen any provider offer this type of compensation for a breach of security and access to personal info. I’m not sure to what extent theft is occuring due to the break-in, but at least we have a year of one million dollars of coverage in case anyone tries to use your credit card info to buy something ridiculous. Here are the details as outlined on the Playstation Blog:
Image courtesy of AllClearID
- Cyber monitoring and surveillance of the Internet to detect exposure of an AllClear ID Plus customer’s personal information, including monitoring of criminal web sites and data recovered by law enforcement. If his/her personal information is found, the customer will be alerted by phone and/or email and will be provided advice and support regarding protective steps to take. The customer will also receive monthly identity status reports. Debix works with an alliance of cyber-crime experts from the government, academia and industry to provide these services.
- Priority access to licensed private investigators and identity restoration specialists. If an AllClear ID Plus customer receives an alert, or otherwise suspects that he/she may be the victim of identity theft, the customer can speak directly, on a priority basis, with an on-staff licensed private investigator, who will conduct a comprehensive inquiry. In the case of an identity theft, the customer can work with an identity restoration specialist to contact creditors and others, and take necessary steps to restore the customer’s identity.
- A $1 million identity theft insurance policy per user to provide additional protection in the event that an AllClear ID Plus customer becomes a victim of identity theft. This insurance would provide financial relief of up to $1 million for covered identity restoration costs, legal defense expenses, and lost wages that occur within 12 months after the stolen identity event.
Identity theft is no joke these days, and neither is hacking or phishing for your info. It almost happened to me a few years back when someone had some of my partial banking information and tried to buy some pianos from a very expensive place. I’m not sure that was where I would go if I had some stolen information but none the less Wachovia caught it and contacted me right away. UPS fraud department also got involved when the thief tried to send a bogus check using UPS and eventually I believe the person was caught and convicted. So as a common rule of thumb I now subscribe to my bank’s yearly fee credit protection and really have nothing to worry about. When I get the email from Playstation about AllClear ID Plus I’ll be signing up for that too just as a good measure and well, cause it’s free. Hopefully soon this all gets worked out so I can get back online to download some games and play some multiplayer, but be rest assured Sony wont be taking security lightly in the future. For now, all my hope is restored in Sony, this happens everyday to companies all over the world.
Via Engadget, Source Playstation Blog
More info about PSN users from AllClear ID
