Google at the Next conference on Wednesday announced the launch of its hardware security keys called the Titan Security Key. The Titan Security Key works in a way similar to the products offered by companies like Yubico and it offers two-step verification for safeguarding data on the sites and services against phishing attacks.
The hardware keys come in two variants. one with Bluetooth support works with the smartphones, and other is with USB support directly plugs into the USB port of the users’ computers.”Titan Security Key gives you even more peace of mind that your accounts are protected.Google’s Titan Security Key is built on the FIDO specification, a security standard that is supported by many apps and services including GitHub, SoftBank, ING Bank, Google, Facebook, and Dropbox. Interestingly, Titan Security Key can not only be used to secure the host of services offered by Google, which includes Chrome web browser, Gmail, and G Suite, but also with other non-Google services.
What user do with the new product ?
With the new product, users will be able to take advantage of Google’s Advanced Protection Program which safeguards users’ personal accounts with a series of protective measures which includes a physical security key, limiting Google apps and select third party apps to access users’ emails and Drive, and adding extra steps while verifying user’s identity during the account recovery process.Currently, Google’s Titan Security Key is available only to Cloud users and the device is scheduled to be available for sale at Google Store in coming months. However, there is no word on the pricing yet.
Interestingly, the tech giant had been testing the security key internally for over a year. And finally it decided to introduce the product to the public. Meanwhile, last week, Google announced that none of its 85,000 employees had faced a phishing attack on their work-related accounts since early 2017 when the employees began using physical security keys in place of passwords.
Some key points about Titan security key
- Google has been testing the key internally for over a year, but only recently made it available outside the company.
- Google employees are required to log in with physical tokens for security reasons, a system that seems to be working.
- the company announced it had not had a single successful account takeover since implementing the policy in early 2017.
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