Security News > 2024 > July > Google removes enrollment barrier for prospective Advanced Protection Program users

Google has removed a potential obstacle for high-risk users who want to enroll in the company's Advanced Protection Program: they can now do it just by setting a passkey.

Until now, new users were required to have two physical security keys to enroll in the first place.

Google's Advanced Protection Program was launched in late 2017 with the express intention of providing additional security for users who are more likely to be hit with targeted attacks: journalists, human rights activitists and workers, political campaign staff, people in abusive relationships, IT admins, employees in regulated or high-risk verticals, etc.

"Advanced Protection Program is our strongest level of Google Account security and provides extra safeguards against common attacks like phishing, malware and fraudulent access to data," Chatterjee explained.

Throughout the years, Google has been adding to these defenses by implementing non-negotiable security features such as blocking the installation of most apps from third-party app stores, switching on the use of Google Play Protect, providing a "Risky files" scanning feature, and so on.

This latest change is meant to make it easier and possible for more users to enroll into APP. "We've seen the global struggles of people wanting an extra layer of protection but unable to enroll for various reasons, including not having access to security keys. We're always streamlining our offerings and will continue to hear and apply the feedback directly from our users," Chatterjee explained.

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2024/07/10/google-app-passkey/