• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Our Services
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Top Nav Social Icons

Mobile ID World

Mobile ID World

Identification Revolution

  • Mobile ID
    • What Is Mobile ID?
    • Identity Associations
    • Premier Partners
    • FAQ
  • News
  • Solutions
    • Behavioral
    • Facial Recognition
    • Fingerprint Biometrics
    • Iris Biometrics
    • Second Factor
    • Smart Cards
    • Smartphones
    • Vital
    • Voice
    • Wearable Tech
    • Other
  • Applications
    • Access Control
    • Cloud Technology
    • Commerce
    • Enterprise
    • Healthcare
    • Identification
    • Internet of Things
    • Law Enforcement
    • Strong Online Authentication
  • Exclusive
    • Interviews
    • Featured Articles
    • Podcasts
  • Companies
  • Events

Google Cut Account Hacks in Half With 2FA Auto-enrolment

February 9, 2022

Google Cut Account Hacks in Half With 2FA Auto-enrolment

By automatically enabling two-factor authentication for users, Google has decreased account hacks by 50 percent, the company has announced.

It’s the result of an initial trial announced in October, in which the company enabled 2FA security – or “2-Step Verification (2SV)”, in Google’s parlance – for 150 million Google account users by default. The effort also extended to 2 million YouTube creators. That meant that in order to log in, users would need to employ either a second-factor security key or an authentication app, such as the Google Smart Lock, in order to verify that they were indeed the ones trying to access their accounts.

Now, in a blog post, the tech giant’s Director of Account Security and Safety, Guemmy Kim, has revealed that the change cut account compromise incidents in half for the sample user group.

Kim framed Google’s 2FA effort as an acceleration of the company’s “journey to eliminating password threats”, and suggested that the nudge toward stronger security will greatly expand going forward. “Ultimately, we want all of our users to have the best security protections in place — by default — across their devices and accounts,” she wrote.

Indeed, Google’s efforts toward post-password security in recent years have extended beyond 2FA security keys. In 2019, Google enabled biometric authentication for Android users, and it went on to explore biometric authentication its Autofill function in early 2020. Last summer, the company launched a security feature allowing iOS users to lock private browser tabs behind biometric authentication.

That having been said, Kim’s blog post did not mention biometrics, instead gesturing to second-factor authentication more broadly as the company seeks to expand 2SV auto-enrolment in the coming months. Urging users to embrace 2SV proactively, the post noted that the Biden Administration had issued an executive order requiring government agencies to implement multi-factor authentication, signalling its importance.

“Turn on 2SV (or we will!),” wrote Kim.

Sources: The Keyword, The Verge, CNET

Filed Under: Industry News Tagged With: 2FA, 2FA security, 2FA security keys, authenticator apps, Biometric, biometrics, Google, hack attacks, multi-factor authentication, Two-factor authentication

Related News & Articles

Precise Biometrics Chairman Purchases 150,000 Shares

Khazanah Nasional Adds SenseTime and Tencent Execs to Board

Biometrics, Mobile ID Gain Traction Amid Shift to Hybrid Work: Survey

Primary Sidebar

Register For the Next Virtual Identity Summit

Register now!

Tweets

Sponsored Links

facetec logo

FaceTec’s patented, industry-leading 3D Face Authentication software anchors digital identity, creating a chain of trust from user onboarding to ongoing authentication on all modern smart devices and webcams. FaceTec’s 3D FaceMaps™ make trusted, remote identity verification finally possible. As the only technology backed by a persistent spoof bounty program and NIST/iBeta Certified Liveness Detection, FaceTec is the global standard for Liveness and 3D Face Matching with millions of users on six continents in financial services, border security, transportation, blockchain, e-voting, social networks, online dating and more. www.facetec.com

FACEPHI is a global leader in Facial Recognition technology and in Mobile Biometrics technologies. With a strong concentration in the financial sector, FacePhi’s product is rapidly becoming a service used by banks all over the world. Its implementation doesn’t just save money, it is also a way to attract clients and build loyalty, while increasing the security of transactions for both the customer and the business. To learn more about FacePhi, visit https://www.facephi.com/en/

Recent Posts

  • Thai Authorities Approve Mobile ID for Airport Boarding
  • New Yoti Solution Ties Biometrics to e-Signatures
  • Kenya’s New President Pushes for Digital ID By Year’s End
  • MDL, Digital ID Gain Momentum in State Efforts
  • Brazil-based Selfie Onboarding Startup Reports 250% Sales Jump, Global Expansion

Footer

  • About Us
  • Company Directory
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Archives
  • CCPA: Do not sell my personal info.

Follow Us

Copyright © 2023 MobileIDWorld