Google plans on upgrading its two-factor authentication
tool with an improved, physical security measure aimed at protecting
high-profile users from politically motivated cyberattacks, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The new service, to be called Advanced Protection Program and
potentially slated to launch next month, will trade out the standard
authentication process for services like Gmail and Google Drive with
physical USB security keys. The service would also restrict the types of
third-party apps and services that could connect to a user’s Google
account.
The changes are not likely to affect standard Google account owners, as Bloomberg reports
that Google “plans to market the product to corporate executives,
politicians and others with heightened security concerns.” Following the
2016 hack of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s Gmail account,
which was the result of a phishing attack with links to the Russian government,
Google began looking into measures that would improve security for
users in possession of sensitive material and those in a position of
political prominence. The new physical security keys, which will require
users keep them plugged in to access the additional security controls,
should make it more difficult to remotely gain control of someone’s
Gmail or Google Drive account.
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