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To stop hackers, Google is preparing to automatically turn on two-factor authentication for user accounts rather than make it opt-in.
“Soon we’ll start automatically enrolling users in 2SV [two-step verification] if their accounts are appropriately configured,” Mark Risher, a Google director of user security, wrote in a blog post.
The announcement comes on World Password Day. Using a strong password is a crucial way to prevent hijackers from breaking into your account. But for even more protection, many services also offer two-factor authentication (2FA), which adds an extra step to the log-in process.
The security safeguard works by tapping into your smartphone to generate a one-time passcode either via text or an authenticator app which can then be typed into a login form. Google also allows people to approve 2FA logins by tapping a prompt inside its own apps.
Google will soon switch on two-factor authentication by default
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Google is about to take a pretty significant step that will help keep user accounts more secure: it’s going to enroll people in two-factor authentication by default. Today the company wrote in a blog post that it will soon start enrolling customers in two-factor authentication (or “two-step verification,” as Google calls it) if their accounts are “appropriately configured.”
Once enabled, they’ll receive a prompt on their smartphone to verify that an attempted login with their Google account is legitimate. “Using their mobile device to sign in gives people a safer and more secure authentication experience than passwords alone,” said Google’s senior director of product management, Mark Risher. (On-phone alerts are more secure than SMS messages, which can be intercepted.)
Google wants to eliminate the use of passwords, focuses on 2FA Passwords are the single biggest threat to your online security theyâre easy to steal, theyâre hard to remember, and managing them is tedious
May 6th is World Password Day, a day dedicated to promoting safer password practices. Today, Google announced that moving forward, all users of its various services will be prompted to enable two-factor authentication, and those who have already done so will be asked to verify that they are who they claim they are. Additionally, Google will enable two-factor authentication by default for users soon.
Your passwords suck, so Google will turn on two-factor security for you
Chris Davies - May 6, 2021, 10:29am CDT
Google plans to enable two-factor authentication by default, automatically pushing users to safer security settings given the risks of relying solely on a password to protect your account. Currently, the system – also known as 2FA, two-step verification, or 2SV – is optional for Google accounts, though recommended.
It works, as the name suggests, by adding a second layer of security to your existing password. While that’s still required, along with your account username, Google also requires a second step: there, you have several options.
That’s why Google is moving beyond passwords. It’s about to start automatically enrolling Gmail and Google account users into two-factor authentication (2FA).
“You may not realize it, but passwords are the single biggest threat to your online security they’re easy to steal, they’re hard to remember, and managing them is tedious,” Mark Risher, Google’s product management director for identity and user security, wrote in a blog post on Thursday, which is World Password Day.
“Soon we’ll start automatically enrolling users in 2SV if their accounts are appropriately configured. (You can check the status of your account in our Security Checkup),” he wrote.