Cyber Security Month’s “Secure your EA Account” promotion!
By Anand Nair, Director Commerce & Identity Platforms
Anand Nair, Director Commerce & Identity Platforms
EA takes player account security very seriously. In recognition of October being National Cyber Security Awareness month here in the U.S., we launched a special promotion to encourage players enable additional layer of account security. If you turn on Two Factor Authentication(2FA)/Login Verification during the month of October 2019, you’ll not only have helped secure access to your EA account, you’ll also enjoy a free month of Origin Access Basic. The offer ends October 31, 2019 so I encourage you to do it soon. You may also want to check out https://origin.com/store/origin-access/terms for additional details and restrictions that may apply.
Some of you are likely saying “but wait, I’m...“
- Already an Origin Access Basic member?
We won’t charge you during the month of November, and you’ll get charged as normal for your next month during the following billing cycle.
- Already a member of Origin Access Premier?
We’ll give you a free month of Premier instead.
- Already have Login Verification enabled?
Great! You’ll get a free month of Origin Access, too.
Not a bad deal, huh?
Why are we driving awareness and participation in Multi Factor Authentication(MFA)/Two Factor Authentication(2FA)?
Research (*Telesign Account Security Report) has indicated that more than 70% of users would welcome advice on how they can add greater protection their online accounts. More than half (56%) were unfamiliar with 2FA/MFA.
Even when 2FA is offered, users don’t take advantage of it. \*Google recently disclosed that nine years after it opened up 2FA , less than 10% of active users have enabled 2FA for their Google accounts. We see low participation in 2FA sign up within EA users as well.
What is an Authentication Factor?
Authentication is core to the Identity and access management. *Sarah Squire in her talk “Identity in ten hundred words” describes Authentication as “Making sure that a person or thing is the same person or thing you saw last time (Which is different from them being who they say they are!)”.
Various factors can help secure the authentication of a person/thing. Knowledge - Something you know , Possession - Something you have and Inheritance - Something you are.
Knowledge factor - something you know, is the most prevalent used for authentication. Some of the methods used in this are Passwords, Pins, Security Question and Answers. Password is the most commonly method, though it's the weakest form of authentication. Having another factor along with the password helps secure authentication, and is known as a second or multiple factor(2FA or MFA).
Possession factor - something you have, improved the authentication security as it made hard for bad actors to get to the methods that the person/thing possess. Some of the common methods used are OTP(One Time Password) via Email/ SMS etc.
So how does the 2FA/Login verification work?
Once you sign up, we’ll ask you for a verification code when you try to log into some EA games and services. We will also ask for one when you try to change your account info.
We use this code, along with your password, to check that it’s you when you try to access your account from a new or unrecognized device. If you do not have both your password and your code, you can’t log in.
How do I turn on 2FA/Login verification?
- Log into your account at https://origin.com
- Head to your EA Account Security settings.
- Under Login Verification, click Turn On.You’ll get to choose a verification method to use ; - Email/SMS/Authenticator App/Voice.
- We’ll send you a code via the method you choose right away. Use that code to activate Login Verification, and you’ll be all set.
References and Credit
*Sarah Squire in her talk “Identity in ten hundred words”
*Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR)
