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Sony adding two-factor authentication to PSN

Welcome to 2013! Xbox Live has had two-step authentication for a few years, but PSN will soon get up to speed.

David Craddock

April 20, 2016 2:20 PM

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After updating his PlayStation 3 to version 4.80, Tuomas Tonteri got a message alluding to two-step authentication and tweeted it out for the world to see. Sony never made an official comment about the security feature, so Polygon contacted Sony and got confirmation from a representative.

"In order to further safeguard our users and their accounts, we are preparing to offer a 2-step verification feature," the rep told Polygon.

PSN accounts are used across PS3, PS4, PS Vita, the PlayStation mobile app, and the PSN website. Expect two-factor authentication to cover all of those login points when Sony rolls it out.

Incidentally, Sony's confirmation of two-factor authentication comes on the five-year anniversary of one of the biggest PSN hacks in the network's lifetime. In April 2011, PSN was compromised in a way that exposed the personal information of many of its 77 million users (at the time of the hack).

Better late than never. It's worth mentioning that Microsoft's been on the ball for several years. In 2013, Microsoft added two-factor authentication to Xbox Live and other Microsoft accounts.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.