Sony offers U.S. PSN and Qriocity users free identity theft protection for one year

As Sony prepares to flip the switch on PlayStation Network and Qriocity, bringing select services back online following last month’s hack attack that exposed the personal data of more than 77 million users, steps are also being taken to ensure that those users are protected in the real world as well as online. A new PlayStation Blog post lays out the details of Sony’s plan to offer complimentary identity theft protection to all affected PSN and Qriocity account holders.

This first phase only applies to customers based in the United States, though the company is of course working to launch similar programs in other regions. Sony has partnered up with Debix, “one of the industry’s most reputable identity protection firms,” to offer account holders one year of AllClear ID Plus, starting from the moment you register for the program. Activation e-mails will be sent out “over the next few days” and redemption codes will remain active until June 18.

For those who are unfamiliar with identity protection services, Sony lays out how the process works in broad strokes. Debix monitors known criminal websites and data recovered by law enforcement for your personal info. Monthly status reports are sent out and the company will contact you directly via phone and/or e-mail if any data theft is discovered. Debix will also connect protected individuals with private investigators and identity restoration specialists if identity theft becomes a concern. Each AllClear ID Plus customer also has a $1 million identity theft insurance policy in their name, should they become the victim of identity theft.

Sony expects to have details “shortly” on when PSN and Qriocity services will start to come back online. Going by