Use two-factor authentication by default for 4 months Google: 50% reduction in user information leakage

On February 8th, “Safe Internet Day,” Google detailed the company’s efforts over the past four months in a recent blog post, calling on users to use two-factor authentication by default. In October 2021, the company announced plans to turn on two-factor authentication by default for the 150 million Google users who don’t currently use the service and required 2 million YouTube creators to use the service. In the latest post, Google said it observed a 50% reduction in account compromises among the test user base.

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According to another blog post by the company last year, making users use two-factor by default is an attempt to achieve a longer-term goal — a future without passwords. And to achieve this, two-factor authentication, or “two-step verification” (2SV) as Google calls it, is a core pillar of this strategy, as it comes through a physical object like a security key, or a phone that receives a code via an app or text message, the security of the account has been significantly improved.

In 2018, a Google engineer revealed that more than 90% of active Gmail accounts did not use two-factor authentication, prompting questions about why Google didn’t make the two-step authentication process mandatory. Since then, the company has been working to make 2SV the default option for more users, and a mandatory step for some.

Guemmy Kim, Director of Account Safety and Security at Google, said: “There is a lot of educational work to be done about 2SV, and we want users to understand what it is and why it is beneficial. We also need to make sure that users’ accounts are set up correctly, that there is a recovery of Emails and phone numbers so they can avoid account lockouts once 2SV is implemented. We’ve signed up for those users who we consider to be early adopters and their accounts are 2SV ready.”

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