Twitter has officially endorsed FIDO U2F certified security keys for users, as well as two-factor authentication more broadly.

The social media giant’s advocacy came by way of a larger update on how the company is working to fight spam and malicious bots, with Twitter announcing in a blog post that it had “identified and challenged” over 9.9 million suspect accounts in May alone, and that it had suspended over 142,000 accounts violating its terms of use in Q1, among other measures.

Twitter’s advocacy of stronger user security came under the heading “What you can do”. In urging users to embrace two-factor authentication based on mobile verification codes, Twitter asserted that this process “helps make sure that you, and only you, can access you account.” Later, the company’s post added, “You can also use a FIDO Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) security key for login verification when signing into Twitter.”

Twitter’s support for two-factor authentication has been around for quite some time, but its endorsement of FIDO U2F security keys is a novel testament to a growing recognition of the efficacy of both security keys and FIDO’s authentication standards. And with end users more concerned than ever about malicious activity on Twitter, it’s an endorsement that many may heed – especially with some prominent elections on the horizon.

Source: Twitter