Apple beefs up iMessage, FaceTime security with two-factor authentication
FaceTime security with two-factor authentication
Apple has added two-factor authentication to iMessage and FaceTime, adding an extra dose of password security to two important iPhone and Mac features.
Two-factor authentication sounds simple enough, but it actually adds a good deal more protection to an account. In most cases, it is a second, one-time code that is used with your permanent password. The code is typically sent in a text message to a user’s paired smartphone when someone tries to log in to an account. So a hacker who cracks the password would have nothing without the other, randomly generated password.
The news, as first spotted by The Guardian, comes on the heels of Apple adding two-step verification to iCloud and iTunes in 2013. iCloud.com got the update in July.
Two-step verification is an extremely common security procedure offered by the likes of Google, Dropbox, Microsoft, Twitter and Facebook. There’s really no excuse to not be using two-step — it takes just a few seconds of your time to add some extra armor to your accounts.
Apple faced a good deal of security scrutiny last year after the theft of a bevy of nude celebrity photos.
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