Twitter offers users two factor authentication to tighten security - Inquirer

MICROBLOGGING WEBSITE Twitter is tightening up its security by offering two-factor authentication for users across its social network. Following in the footsteps of Facebook, which rolled out a similar login verification scheme a while ago, Twitter wants to "make sure it's really you" logging in by rolling out an optional feature that makes users enter a six-digit code that is sent to their phone via SMS each time they sign in. Those that can be bothered to go through such a lengthy process each time they log in can turn the feature on in "security account settings". You'll then be asked to register a verified phone number and a confirmed email address. The feature is an evident response from the social network following a number of Twitter account attacks that have been seen against various organisations and institutions recently. The Financial Times for example, along with British newspaper the Telegraph and the newswire service the Associated Press, just to name a few, have all seen attacks take over their Twitter streams within the last month. "Login attempts [usually] come from the genuine account owners, but we occasionally hear from people whose accounts have been compromised by email phishing schemes or a breach of password data elsewhere on the web," Twitter's product security head Jim O'Leary said in a blog post. "Of course, even with this new security option turned on, it's still important for you to use a strong password and follow the rest of our advice for keeping your account secure." We spoke with Trend Micro's security researcher Rik Ferguson, who welcomed the news that Twitter is upping the stakes in security, saying it is "better late than never after all". "Personally, I activated it as soon as it became available," he said. "Doubtless this has been on the roadmap for some time, but the high profile economic consequences of the AP Twitter account hack certainly underscored the urgency of providing better security for their millions of customers." Ferguson recommends that all Twitter  - and Facebook for that matter - users take advantage of this additional layer of security. For those worried that turning on the authentication in twitter.com will affect their apps, O'Leary advised that "all existing applications will continue to work without disruption" and those who need to sign in to their Twitter accounts on other devices or apps should visit Twitter's applications page to generate a temporary password to log in and authorise that application. µ via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHbxOXX_jgBoehKYY1Yqh5PLhR5IQ&url=http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2270084/twitter-offers-users-two-factor-authentication-to-tighten-security

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