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Companies Advise Tighter Security After Honan Hack

Posted by samzenpus on from the add-another-security-question dept.

In the wake of the hacking of Mat Honan's accounts, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple are just a few of the companies making their security policies tougher, and they are advising people to do the same. From the article: "Even as those companies’ teams moved to patch the holes, others moved to offer security tips. Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Webspam team, used his personal Website to urge Gmail users to embrace two-factor authentication. 'Much of the story is about Amazon or Apple’s security practices, but I would still advise everyone to turn on Google’s two-factor authentication to make your Gmail account safer and less likely to get hacked,' he wrote in the August 6 posting."

3 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Feels like post-911 by A+beautiful+mind · · Score: 5, Insightful

    In the name of security Google has been pestering for my phone number for years, while their motives are much less about my security and more about their business reasons.

    --
    It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
    Be yourself no matter what they say
    1. Re:Feels like post-911 by patchmaster · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Google has had my phone number for years. To my knowledge I've yet to receive a single call that originated from Google or someone to whom Google gave my phone number.

      I'm all for identifying evil as evil, but it would be nice to have some actual evidence before making the accusation.

  2. Re:two-factor security by kaiser423 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Uh, they do have a one-time pad of pre-authenticated numbers, and an app that doesn't require an internet connection. I've authenticated form a 9200bps modem from the middle of the Pacific using my list of one-time security access codes.

    In other words, it's glorious. Google does security right, and everyone else needs to take notice. Including corporate IT departments. I've used it for years, and every now and then when I need a new account, I go and get an outlook.com account or similar, because all the regular names are taken in gmail, but I always feel so naked using them. No security at all.