Facebook, in an effort to keep some risk accounts even more secure, is reinstating its Protect program and will soon force high-profile subscribers like journalists, politicians, and human rights activists to enable two-factor authentication (2FA).

The social network will begin this process globally in the coming months, giving priority to accounts that the company considers risky. That is, those “most likely to be attacked by malicious hackers.” By mid-February 2022, the company plans for North American users with this type of profile to start with two-factor authentication.

This program was first experienced in 2018 with US politicians, before the 2020 elections. Slowly, but progressively, the social network has been expanding the program to other users considered at risk and it is eventually expected that it may be available on more than 50 countries, including India.

Easy authentication

Facebook encourages the use of “third-party authentication applications” and highlighted that it is doing some work that will allow “the registration and use of 2FA to be as simple as possible for these groups of people by providing a better user experience and support.”

The company admits that everyone’s adaptation to the program will take some time, especially for those users who do not regularly log into their accounts. However, when reviewing the statistics of people registered in the first tests, the figures are quite acceptable.

Meta’s security policy chief, Nathaniel Gleicher, pointed out that more than 1.5 million accounts at risk are registered in the Protect program and 950,000 of them activated 2FA. He additionally reported that approximately 4 % of monthly users have it enabled for their accounts.

Facebook indicated that it does not plan to require non-Protect users to add 2FA to their accounts and recommended doing so through a security key.

M. Rodríguez

Source: diarioinforme

La entrada Facebook will request two-step authentication apareció primero en Bitfinance.

Google expanded the methods that allow user authentication to a company account in a two-factor system by using the Chrome browser when logging in to a computer.

The two-step verification (2VS) or two-factor authentication (2AF) system requires an additional item after the password to confirm that the user is the one who is trying to log into their Google account.

This second factor can be a pop-up window, in which the user must indicate that it is him with the corresponding button, or press a linked security key (external hardware) for several seconds.

The technology company began to distribute another option: that the Chrome browser app for Android acts as a security key from the mobile when trying to log in to a computer, as reported by 9to5Google.

When the user enters their Google account email and password on a computer, they will see a new notification on the phone asking if they are trying to access and notifying them that someone is trying to log in from a nearby device .

From the aforementioned portal they point out that after confirming, a screen appears with a padlock surrounded by a circle with the corporate color that indicates that it is connected to the device, as is the case with the process that follows with a security key physical.

K. Tovar

Source: dpa

La entrada Google transforms Chrome on Android into a security key apareció primero en Bitfinance.