Google Takes New Major Step Towards A More Secure And Passwordless Future
We use passwords on a day-to-day basis, from checking the bank to logging onto Twitter, but they can be the weakest link in the chain of security around these use cases. If they are simple, they can be cracked; and if they are complex, they are more likely to be reused so if one is cracked or lost, all of them are. Using Two-Factor Authentication and a password manager can help with all of these problems, and Google is stepping up to the plate to help out.
As Mark Risher, Director of Product Management, Identity and User Security at Google, explains, “One of the best ways to protect your account from a breached or bad password is by having a second form of verification in place.” This could be an app on your phone, a simple text message with a code, or USB device that you plug into a computer. Google allows users to tap to verify it is them when signing into an account, and soon they will start “automatically enrolling users in 2SV if their accounts are appropriately configured.” This will make logging into a Google account safer than ever before.
The overall goal from Google is to “reduce the spread of weak credentials” and keep people secure across the web. Risher further states states, the hope is that “stolen passwords will be a thing of the past, because passwords will be a thing of the past, but until then Google will continue to keep you and your passwords safe.”
