Sony joined forces with ID theft protection and security company Debix in May to bring a free version of its "AllClear ID Plus" service to PlayStation Network members. The sign-up period, which originally expired on June 28th, has been extended. Those with valid PSN accounts created prior to the April 20th service shutdown now have a bit more time to sign up and receive 12 months of free identity theft protection and a $1 million insurance policy.
Patrick Seybold, Senior Director of Corporate Communications and Social Media, announced the extension last Friday at the U.S. PlayStation blog and outlined (again) exactly what the service grants subscribers.
"A friendly reminder to all eligible PlayStation Network and Qriocity account holders, Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment International have made arrangements with Debix, Inc., one of the industry’s most reputable identity protection firms, to offer AllClear ID Plus at no cost for 12 months from the time an account holder registers for the program," Seybold said. "This AllClear ID Plus Identity Theft Protection offer in the United States has been extended through July 31, 2011."
According to Sony, AllClear ID Plus promises the following:
- 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.
- Priority access to licensed private investigators and identity restoration specialists.
- 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.
The service is one of several Sony included in its "Welcome Back" package as an apology to those affected by the weeks-long PlayStation Network outage. The highly-publicized cyber attack which led to the shutdown compromised the personal data of around 77 million people worldwide and left many - including the U.S. government - with serious questions about whether the company did all it could to protect customer information.
Sony has yet to announce data protection and ID theft prevention offers for Canadian and Latin American PSN members, though Seybold confirmed it would do so "soon."
Have you signed up for the free service already? Or plan to do so thanks to the extension? Let us know how it works in the comment section.
