Google's Secret to Protect Its Employees From Hacking Is Physical Keys
Google's Secret to Protect Its Employees From Hacking Is
Physical Keys
Google says phishing incidents among its employees
dropped to zero after adopting Security Keys.
By Eric Limer Jul 24, 2018
Phishing attacks, where hackers trick you into giving
them your password while leaving you none the wiser, are one of the most
nefarious vectors of cyberattack out there, but Google appears to have settled
on an extremely robust solution for protecting its own employees. According to
a Google spokesperson talking to security blog Krebs on Security, the adoption
of physical Security Keys stopped the attacks in their tracks.
Security Keys, small USB stick devices made by YubiKey,
function similar to two-factor authentication (2FA) methods you may (and
should) already be using. With 2FA enabled, you (or hackers) need more than
just username and password, they also need a second factor, often a number sent
to a trusted telephone number by SMS, or a key generated by an authentication
app like Google Authenticator.
These measures absolutely increase security, but they
come with their own downsides. SMS messages are far from secure, and can be
compromised by hackers. Authenticator apps are more secure, but are a hassle.
Physical keys solve both these problems at once: There's no transmitted code to
intercept, and no phone apps to fumble with or numbers to punch in at login.
Instead, you just pop the key into the device and press a button.
Google's results using this tech are promising, and could
help it gain the momentum for more widespread adoption. Yubikey's Security Keys
operate on an open-source standard called Universal 2nd Factor (U2F), which is
already supported by a number of companies and products like Google, Dropbox,
Facebook, and browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.
Until this standard or one like it is supported near
universally, Security Keys will likely remain a tool for early adopters and
organizations particularly worried about security, but hopefully the practice
will only spread. Because while the internet may have completely changed many
of the ways we live, it looks like a physical key is still your best bet at
keeping yourself safe.
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