Security News > 2021 > October > Google to auto-enroll 150m users, 2m YouTubers with two-factor authentication

Google is going to automatically enroll 150 million users and two million YouTube creators into using two-factor authentication for their accounts by the end of the year, it announced on Tuesday.

"And because we know the best way to keep our users safe is to turn on our security protections by default, we have started to automatically configure our users' accounts into a more secure state. By the end of 2021, we plan to auto-enroll an additional 150 million Google users in 2SV and require two million YouTube creators to turn it on."

Although Google introduced such authentication about a decade ago, people haven't really been using it.

Google software engineer Grzegorz Milka revealed at Usenix's Enigma security conference in 2018 that less than 10 per cent of the web giant's active user accounts were protected by two-factor authentication.

At the time, Milka told The Register the search giant didn't want to force it upon its users.

"We also recognize that today's 2SV options aren't suitable for everyone," Mardini and Kim said, "So we are working on technologies that provide a convenient, secure authentication experience and reduce the reliance on passwords in the long-term. Right now we are auto-enrolling Google accounts that have the proper backup mechanisms in place to make a seamless transition to 2SV." .

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/10/06/google_twofactor_authentication/