Happy Safer Internet Day folks.
More than a billion users worldwide perform their day-to-day activities with the help of Google services like Search, Gmail, YouTube, etc.
Google’s decision to enable two-factor authentication by default for all users appears to have borne fruit.
In a blog post, the search firm has revealed that Google account breaches dropped by 50 percent among those users where 2FA (two-step verification in Google-speak) was auto-enabled.
This shows how MFA adds additional security to your online accounts.
What’s this 2FA?
Two factor authentication (2FA) or Multi Factor verification (MFA) or Two-step verification (2SV as Google calls it) is the process of providing additional authentication on top of the basic login process.
For example, even after you provide username and password credentials for login, another factor like SMS/Email code or Biometric proof is required to access the account.
2SV is a core pillar of Google’s strategy
The company didn’t say how rapidly it expected 2FA to spread, but promised to continue the rollout through 2022.
As of now, more than 150 million people have been auto-enrolled so far, including more than 2 million YouTube creators.
Google is serious about security
Google also announced a couple of new security initiatives for its users.
It has teamed up with several organizations for Google’s “Campaign Security Project”.
The project will give high-profile organizations across the political spectrum, tools to train candidates and campaign workers to stay safe online.
Next month, Google will launch its account-level enhanced browsing feature.
This will be an opt-in feature that “provides [Google’s] broadest security protection against threats [encountered] on the web and against your Google Account”.
If you want to activate 2FA on your Google account, we already covered it in a dedicated post here.
Also read Google’s blog post here.
Be secure and stay safe.
Thanks for reading and I hope it was worth your time.
If you liked it, please share it with your family and friends. Subscribe to our newsletter for more awesome content and news.
Follow our Facebook and Twitter page for more content and news.
Author
