Google is implementing passkey support for its Advanced Protection Program (APP), which is utilized by individuals who are particularly vulnerable to targeted assaults, including campaign workers, candidates, journalists, human rights workers, and others, in advance of the U.S. presidential election.
Previously, APP enrollment necessitated the use of hardware security keys; however, passkeys will soon be acceptable. Users will have the option of using passwords in addition to hardware security keys or passwords.
Heather Adkins, vice president of security engineering at Google, stated in a blog post, “During a pivotal election year, we will implement this feature for our most vulnerable users and continue to collaborate with organizations such as Defending Digital Campaigns, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Asia Centre, Internews, and Possible to safeguard global high-risk users.”
Since the company introduced passkey support in 2022, users have reportedly used passkeys to authenticate over one billion times across 400 million Google accounts. Google claims that Google accounts use passkeys more frequently than traditional two-step verification methods that combine SMS one-time passwords and app-based one-time passwords.
Passkey logins make it more difficult for malicious actors to access your accounts remotely, as they would also require physical possession of a phone. Additionally, passkeys eliminate the vulnerability of username and password combinations to fraud.
A multitude of other organizations, such as Apple, Amazon, X (previously Twitter), PayPal, WhatsApp, GitHub, and TikTok, have implemented the technology.
Google also declared its intention to broaden the scope of its Cross-Account Protection initiative, which notifies third-party applications integrated with your Google account of any suspicious activity and provides them with corresponding security alerts. The company claims that this prevents cybercriminals from gaining unauthorized access to one of your accounts, which they could then use to compromise others. Google discloses that it safeguards 2.4 billion accounts across 3.4 million applications and websites and is expanding its industry-wide partnerships.
