Cybercrime Continues To Drop Since Google Enables Two-Step Verification

Google's two-step verification is said to have reduced the number of cybercrimes. (photo: doc. Google)

JAKARTA - Last year, Google did require its users to use two-step verification (2SV), and this is evident from the reduced number of hacks on its service.

In October 2021, Google automatically enrolled 150 million account holders, along with 2 million YouTube users, to use the extra security of 2SV.

In a recent report released by the company, Google observed a 50 percent drop in compromised accounts among that group of test users.

The strategy demonstrates the power of tech giants like Google to provide security by default and fits into years of projects to move users toward stronger security models, ultimately aiming for a passwordless future.

Two-factor authentication as Google calls it, is a core pillar of this strategy, as account security is significantly improved. Where if a user wants to log in on a new device then they need authentication with a security key on the device itself, or a phone to receive a code via an app or SMS.

However, according to The Verge, Wednesday, February 9, many Google users ignore this security, so there is minimal 2SV adoption. In 2018, a Google engineer revealed that more than 90 percent of active Gmail accounts don't use 2SV.

Since then, the company has immediately made 2SV the default option for a larger share of users and a mandatory step for some.

According to Director of Account Security and Safety at Google, Guemmy Kim, one of the remaining barriers is a lack of understanding of the full benefits of additional authentication procedures.

"There's a lot of education that needs to be done with 2SV and we want users to understand what it is and why it's useful," said Kim.

“We also need to ensure that user accounts are properly set up with a recovery e-mail and phone number so they can avoid account lockouts once 2SV is enforced. We have registered users who we consider to be early adopters and whose accounts are 2SV ready,” he added.