PlayStation users may soon protect their account with a passkey. A support page is already available on the official PlayStation website, but some of the functionality is not yet usable.
Passkey is a new technology that promises to be more secure than username and passwords. One of the main advantages is that passkeys are created locally. Private information that is essential for the authentication process stays local. This means that attackers may no longer use phishing attacks to take over accounts. Other attack types, including server breaches or network spying, will also become useless in this regard.
When users create accounts with a password, a hash of the password is stored on the company’s server. This hash may be turned back into the password. The effectiveness depends on the strength of the user password and other parameters.
Passkeys offer another advantage: they remove the need to type passwords. While that may not be such a problem on computers, especially if password managers are used, it can be a nuisance when signing in to the PlayStation.
While there is more to security than strong passwords and two-factor authentication, or passkeys, it is without doubt of high importance.
PlayStation Network: Passkeys support
The official passkey page on Sony’s website describes the security feature. The prominent “activate now” button opens the security settings on the PlayStation website.
The option to generate a passkey is not yet available. The link to the FAQ returns a 404 not found error at this time. It is unclear when the functionality becomes available, but it cannot be long before Sony makes an official announcement.
Some information is revealed on the landing page. Sony writes:
A passkey is a password replacement that provides faster, easier, and more secure sign-in to your account for PlayStation Network. It allows you to access your account without a password. Instead, you sign in through your mobile device or computer using the same convenient device screen unlocking method like a fingerprint, face scan or PIN.
Once set up, PlayStation users may sign-in to their account using the passkey. Passkey support may be limited to biometrics or a device PIN. It is unclear if Sony plans to support hardware security keys as well.
These keys, like the Google Titan Security Key, are inserted into USB ports for authorization. Some have buttons that users need to press to complete the authentication process.
Sony confirms that the PlayStation 5 and the older PlayStation 4 will support passkeys.
Closing Words
More and more Internet services and companies add support for passkeys. It is an excellent new system that promises protection against common threats. While that is the case, there are things that make it less usable in some cases. Since passkeys are created on the local device, it may be necessary to generate them on all devices, copy them or find a way to sync them.
Now You: do you use passkeys already?