Google has published the results of a study of the efficacy of standard anti-account-hijacking techniques like two-factor authentication (2FA), secret questions, and passwords: the good news is that when these are used, they are incredibly effective at stopping both automated and targeted attacks, including "advanced" attacks of the sort that are often characterized as unstoppable. The research confirms that even comparatively weak 2FA through SMS messages to your phone are very effective, preventing 100% of automated attacks, 96% of bulk phishing attacks, and 76% of targeted attacks. Using specialized authenticator apps (like Google's Authenticator, which has a by-design weakness that could potentially allow Google or someone with access to its systems to hack you; or stronger apps like Authy) raise the efficacy bar, preventing 99% of bulk attacks and 90% of targeted attacks. But safest of all are security keys, which were 100% effective against all attacks (!!), confirming the emerging consensus in the security community that these are "game-changers." Google still recommends that "high-risk users" sign up for advanced protection services, which combine Google's server-side anti-fraud tools with security keys, data minimization, auth codes, and other measures. The key takeaway here is that security nihilism -- the idea that it's impossible to be secure, especially against sophisticated attackers -- is based on an inaccurate impression of how well even simple countermeasures work against common attacks.
Comment on Research shows that 2FA and other basic measures are incredibly effective at preventing account hijacking
Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing
Mon, 05/20/2019 - 10:12am
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