Better and more usable protection from phishing

Posted by Christiaan Brand and Guemmy Kim, Product Managers, Google Account Security
Despite constant advancements in online safety, phishing — one of the web’s oldest and simplest attacks — remains a tough challenge for the security community. Subtle tricks and good old-fashioned con-games can cause even the most security-conscious users to reveal their passwords or other personal information to fraudsters.
New advancements in phishing protection

This is why we’re excited about the news for G Suite customers: the launch of Security Key enforcement. Now, G Suite administrators can better protect their employees by enabling Two-Step Verification (2SV) using only Security Keys as the second factor, making this protection the norm rather than just an option. 2SV with only a Security Key offers the highest level of protection from phishing. Instead of entering a unique code as a second factor at sign-in, Security Keys send us cryptographic proof that users are on a legitimate Google site and that they have their Security Keys with them. Since most hijackers are remote, their efforts are thwarted because they cannot get physical possession of the Security Key.

Users can also take advantage of new Bluetooth low energy (BLE) Security Key support, which makes using 2SV Security Key protection easier on mobile devices. BLE Security Keys, which work on both Android and iOS, improve upon the usability of other form factors.
A long history of phishing protections

We’ve helped protect users from phishing for many years. We rolled out 2SV back in 2011, and later strengthened it in 2014 with the addition of Security Keys. These launches complement our many layers of phishing protections — Safe Browsing warnings, Gmail spam filters, and account sign-in challenges — as well as our work with industry groups like the FIDO Alliance and M3AAWG to develop standards and combat phishing across the industry. In the coming months, we’ll build on these protections and offer users the opportunity to further protect their personal Google Accounts.