Google is now launching a security key for your machine.
First out are Google Cloud customers, then consumers will be able to trade Google's Titan Security Key.
Google is now launching a security key for your machine.
First out are Google Cloud customers, then consumers will be able to trade Google's Titan Security Key.
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The USB chip either plugs into the machine or communicates with the phone over Bluetooth to ensure that the device is used by the owner. In place in Titan, there will be a special firmware developed by Google to make sure that the chip is genuine.
The chip is manufactured according to the FIDO specifications, a new security platform that a variety of apps and browsers participate in.
Therefore, it is also possible to log in to non-Google services, but note that firmware authentication may not work on other services.
Extra important for security managers
The point of keys like this is that they are physical and must be in the machine or near the mobile. This as opposed to SMS authentication, or by email, because it's information the hackers can snap up.
Google employees have tested Titan for more than a year to make sure everything is working properly, and it seems that it does: The company reports that there has been no successful phishing attack since the implementation of chip usage in early 2017.
About the launch, Google says that Titan can be traded in their own online store "soon".
You can even search for services that work with a competing solution that also uses FIDO, namely YubiKey.