It is so nerve wrecking nowadays with hacking entering into a level that was never seen before. So integrated and advanced has hacking been made that people often fear their survival. With a hack, your house power can be cut off or with a remotely accessed execution method, your private family pictures might be floating around the internet and much more. To counter hacking trends, Google has launched the Google advanced protection feature.
Google had already initiated strong security features like login alerts and two factor authentication to deal with cybersecurity threats. However, now Google has made a rock solid security feature known as “Google Advanced Protection” to ensure that users with accounts that are under major scrutiny by the hackers can be locked and secured.
The new system is so secure that even if a hacker or a hacking group manages to somehow achieve your Google account’s password, they can not cause any harm whatsoever. In an official post by Google Advanced Protection developing team, they quoted the following:
“We took this unusual step because there is an overlooked minority of our users that are at particularly high risk of targeted online attacks. For example, these might be campaign staffers preparing for an upcoming election, journalists who need to protect the confidentiality of their sources, or people in abusive relationships seeking safety.”
The rock solid integrity of the new google advanced protection system can be judged by the fact that it does not require any secret codes via SMS or Email rather works on the framework based on hardware protection. For a PC, a special USB dongle will be required. When this dongle will be plugged in, only then will you be allowed access to your account. For smartphones and tablets, a Bluetooth enabled dongle will provide the authentication. This was announced officially in a Google statement as well:
“They [security devices] use public-key cryptography and digital signatures to prove to Google that it’s really you. An attacker who does not have your Security Key is automatically blocked, even if they have your password.”
For now, the Google Advanced Protection system has not been designed for all users. It particularly targets users who are government officials, military personnel, journalists and activists. This is because they own the main accounts which are of particular interest to hackers and such people would not mind spending extra time for a login to their email accounts for appreciably greater security and encryption.
