Two-factor authentication: coming soon to many of the services you use
Google has just announced default two-factor authentication for the accounts of many millions of users, while Facebook says it will do so for “high-risk” accounts, a definition as broad as the company sees fit to decide.
The announcements can only mean one thing: very soon, authentication requiring a second communication channel or device will be the default option on more and more sites; so if you haven’t activated it yet, think about doing so and getting used to it.
Security experts have been recommending two-factor authentication if we really want to protect our accounts. Not just because it makes life more difficult for criminals, but because so many people are still in the habit of using a single password for many services, an inadvisable practice considering that many of those services are routinely compromised and their user and password lists published in different places available to anyone who wants to give them a go.
Two-factor authentication is not particularly convenient: having to wait to receive a second password via a message or an authentication app slows things down, and sometimes, as for example when relying on a text message when abroad with smartphone in data mode But the security it provides is beyond question, especially for services we consider…
