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Google will offer a physical security key to upgrade two-factor authentication for certain high-profile users:
The Alphabet Inc. company next month will begin offering a service called the Advanced Protection Program that places a collection of features onto accounts such as email, including a new block on third-party applications from accessing data. The program would effectively replace the need to use two-factor authentication to protect accounts with a pair of physical security keys. The company plans to market the product to corporate executives, politicians and others with heightened security concerns, these people said.
The Gmail messages of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign chairman, were famously hacked last year, along with the databases of the Democratic National Committee. Podesta met with the House Intelligence Committee in June to discuss the hack.
[...] The new service will block all third-party programs from accessing a user's emails or files stored on Google Drive, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the product isn't yet public. The program will be updated with new features to protect user data on an on-going basis.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by looorg on Monday October 02 2017, @07:56PM (9 children)
So normal people does not need or deserve security? Thanks Google ...
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday October 02 2017, @08:00PM
Nope, glad you finally noticed.
You should start posting bank account numbers and naked pics, now. (I'd say not necessarily your naked pics, to save our retinas, but I can't judge the tastes of fellow Soylentils).
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Unixnut on Monday October 02 2017, @08:23PM
> So normal people does not need or deserve security? Thanks Google ...
"Normal people" == the product
when you think of it that way, you recognise that asking Google to do something to benefit you would be like cattle asking the same of the farmer. Nothing will be done to you unless it benefits them. The sooner people realise this, the better it will be for them.
Heads of state, executives, etc... have power and influence against Google, so they are on a more equal footing. Plus it helps if you (or your company) pay for the product of course.
As the saying goes, "Beggars can't be choosers" , if you want a free service, accept that you are not a customer. They are not providing the service out of charity, but intend to make money from you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 02 2017, @08:29PM
You can use yubikeys with google. I use two authenticators for both my personal and work accounts. Much easier to use than RSA type tokens and authenticator apps.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday October 02 2017, @08:33PM (1 child)
It's unclear to me that normal folks will be prevented from adopting this security measure. I wrestled with that question for a hot minute while submitting this. However:
That suggests to me that this is not for normal folks and that it will be priced accordingly. That's not unheard of for Google. They used to have a $399/year version of Google Earth aimed towards media outlets and others. G Suite [wikipedia.org] costs $60-120/year per user. Maybe Google will make this feature an add-on to G Suite.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 02 2017, @08:46PM
It'll almost assuredly be a G Suite feature for nothing less than G Suite Business.
(Score: 2) by arslan on Monday October 02 2017, @10:01PM (3 children)
Not Google/Alphabet's fault. They're a company in a capitalist market jumping on an opportunity. Blame the politicians for sending the message that mass data leaks of citizens are A-Okay. Look at all the leaks over the past few years, how many actually got penalized by the government. Instead of passing laws to make these organization's buckle up and be more accountable the politician try to pass more laws to erode your privacy.
(Score: 1) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Tuesday October 03 2017, @07:14PM (2 children)
How does elitism like that roll with "don't be evil"?
Oh, you forgot that Google once made a claim to be more ethical than average, eh? Now that they've made their sustainability they can just forget about those parts, right?
This sig for rent.
(Score: 2) by arslan on Tuesday October 03 2017, @09:54PM (1 child)
I think that ship has long sailed. I haven't viewed them as that original company that touted that slogan in a long time, they're just like any other big mega corp chasing profits - and in some sense worse because one of their main product is privacy.. but like I said, they aren't the one that created the elitism you speak of, yes they're capitalizing on it but that's the way the market works and within the law (until proven otherwise).
(Score: 1) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Thursday October 05 2017, @03:55PM
Nice points. I think it's OK to keep waving that flag, though, since they grew while making such claims. For whatever that's worth. And you're right, it's the way it works and it's not a question of morality. But if one make a claim to morals, morals may thus make a claim back on them - even if quixotic.
This sig for rent.