Google transforms Android phones into security keys

By -

 At the Google Cloud Next conference, Google showcased the next step it's taking to get security keys in the hands of more people

Security keys offer one of the most secure authentication methods for logging into an account -- it requires plugging in a physical key. Many people, however, may not want to pay for an extra security device, or they may simply forget to carry it with them. Now, Google is trying to make this authentication method more accessible by enabling any phone running Android 7+ to serve as a security key to protect personal Google accounts and professional Google Cloud accounts.


"Think of it like a security key in almost every modern Android phone... a very easy-to-use form factor for over a billion users," Rob Sadowski, Google's Trust and Security marketing lead, told reporters last week. "Having that as your authenticator really makes it easy to use and always available."

While any form of two-step verification improves your security, security keys are immune to phishing attacks -- it doesn't matter if a hacker tricks you into handing over your credentials if they don't have your key.

To activate an Android device's security key, a customer just needs a phone running Android 7+ and a Bluetooth-enabled Chrome OS, macOS X, or Windows 10 computer with a Chrome browser.

The software-based solution is based on FIDO standards. Given that a user could lose their phone, Google recommends they register at least two security keys for their account. In addition to offering security keys via Android phones, Google produces the  Titan Security Key. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Hacker steals data of millions of Bulgarians, emails it to local media

By -
Image
  Source of the data breach appears to be the country's National Revenue Agency A mysterious hacker has stolen the personal details of millions of Bulgarians and has emailed download links to the stolen data to local news publications. The data's origin is believed to be the country's National Revenue Agency (NRA), a department of the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance. In a  message posted on its website  on Monday, the NRA said it was working with the Ministry of the Interior and the State Agency for National Security (SANS) to investigate the hack. "We are currently verifying whether the data is real," said the NRA. Hours after this article's publication, the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior  confirmed the hack . HACKER STOLE 110 DATABASES, LEAKED 57 According to reports from local media [ 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ], who received part of the data, the hacker said they stole the personal details of over five million Bulgarians, of the country's total ...
Read more

​Linux totally dominates supercomputers

By -
Image
It finally happened. Today, all 500 of the world's top 500 supercomputers are running Linux. Linux rules supercomputing. This day has been coming since 1998, when Linux first appeared on the TOP500 Supercomputer list . Today it finally happened:  All 500 of the world's fastest supercomputers are running Linux . The last two non-Linux systems, a pair of Chinese IBM POWER computers running AIX, dropped off the  November 2017 TOP500 Supercomputer list . Overall, China now leads the supercomputing race with 202 computers to the US' 144. China also leads the US in aggregate performance. China's supercomputers represent 35.4 percent of the Top500's flops, while the US trails with 29.6 percent. With an anti-science regime in charge of the government, America will only continue to see its technological lead decline. When the  first Top500 supercomputer list was compiled in June 1993 , Linux was barely more than a toy. It hadn't even adopted Tux as its masc...
Read more

Microsoft tries to stem its self-made collaboration-tool confusion

By -
Image
Microsoft is using this week's Ignite conference to try to help clarify its collaboration-tool strategy. Here's how SharePoint, Teams and Yammer figure in the mix. Choice is good. But too much choice, especially when it comes to collaboration tools, has been a problem for Microsoft. This isn't news to customers, partners or Microsoft execs themselves. But at the company's Ignite IT Pro conference in Orlando this week, Microsoft execs took a step to try to clarify the company's strategy and messaging in this area. Microsoft Office 365 Marketing chief Ron Markezich kicked off the conference this week with a slide entitled "Microsoft 365 Teamwork: Where to Start a Conversation." That slide attempts to do what  Microsoft initially attempted with a 60-plus-page whitepaper : Clarify which collaboration tools customers should use when. The slide, which features SharePoint -- and its files, sites and content storage at the center -- is broken down into t...
Read more