Elon Musk, two-step verification and zero-based budgeting
Once again, Elon Musk has put his foot in it: this time, by notifying Twitter users who had requested a two-step verification of their account via SMS that they will have to pay for it.
What are we talking about here? Fundamentally, cybersecurity. Every time someone wants to log in to an account, be it Twitter or whatever, there is a way to increase the security of the account beyond simply tapping in the username and password — which as we know, leaves a lot to be desired given how many people use the same password for everything or frighteningly insecure ones — by receiving an SMS with a number, which must be typed in to complete the process.
The additional step is hassle-free, and by doing so at login, we complicate life for would-be criminals who want to access our account: even if they manage to get hold of our username and password, they would need access to our phone to be able to impersonate us.
Two-step authentication has been in use for a long time, and people who are reasonably responsible about their data or understand anything about cybersecurity culture use it most of the time.
So why would Musk charge for a service that improves the security of his users? First of all, to cover the cost of those SMSs: they may not be very high, but when you are, as he is…
