A publication was released by Google recently regarding the company’s plans of increasing user account security. This plan includes an aim to auto-enroll 150 million Google users into a two-step verification or 2SV process by the end of 2021 and oblige more than 2 million YouTube creators to activate the 2SV.
To improve user account security, Google takes a new step and fosters its existing measures such as the Google Password Manager directly installed to Android, Chrome, and Google App. IOS device users can use Chrome for auto-filling saved passwords towards other applications as well. Google also added that iOS users could use the password generation tools for any iOS application as soon as possible.
According to Google, the best way of improving user account security is by activating protections such as the two-step verification by default.
The company recognizes that not all users are prepared for enhancements and changes all at once, even though a default activation of user account security measures will be helpful. Therefore, Google stated that it would rather work on technologies that offer convenience and secured authentication experience. They also look at reducing users’ dependence on passwords in the future.
As of now, Google is auto-enrolling Google user accounts that already have a proper backup mechanism in place, so transactions to two-step verification will become seamless.
Google also shared another post regarding the details of Inactive Account Manager, whose purpose is to protect digital accounts in a more improved way even after its owner has stopped using it to further protect against cyberattacks. Coming from the Colonial Pipeline attack, its threat actors exploited an inactive email account that has not applied multifactor authentication, proving how prone unprotected inactive accounts are to attacks.
Found under the ‘My Account’ settings, the Inactive Account Manager allows users to identify if their account is already considered inactive. Moreover, it includes options on whom to notify and what to share when an account is already regarded as inactive. It also determines if deletion is the best option for this inactive user account.
