Facebook has a new tool for security, but is it wise?
Let’s face it, no one likes to get locked out of their account. Gmail, Dropbox, Instagram, Snapchat, or even your Dunkin Donuts app to buy that cup of coffee you drink daily, all have credentials associated with them. Forgetting those credentials could cost you time, money, and more importantly, your sanity.
As frustrating as it is to lose your account access, it could be even more devastating to realize that your accounts have been hacked. With cyber security being a hot topic and hackers breaching companies like Target, Yahoo, and Starbucks, multi form factor authentication is a tool that has Facebook thinking inward.
Many sites use password recovery via e-mail or security questions. Security questions are most likely used across different platforms, and, well let’s be honest, e-mail isn’t exactly the most secure. This brings us to Facebook’s Delegated Recovery. Facebook wants you to use their tool to identify who you are. They send an encrypted recovery token to the application which will allow access to the applicatoin if you lose your credentials. This will do away with all email recovery processes and security questions. Facebook is currently testing this out with GitHub and promoting other companies to try their open sourced code.
Facebook also claims that if you lose access to your account with them, that you can authenticate with the company such as GitHub, to restore access. Seems like a happy marriage between Facebook and your identity right?
Who’s watching the watchers and who is looking out for your identity? As always, Facebook wants you to center your identity around your Facebook profile. Does a compromised Facebook account now allow access to your other accounts? How can Facebook ensure security, in their own right. You better have your privacy settings checked.
More on 2FA and Facebook, check out Sophos.
Check out our Security Audit Checklist.
Please comment and share!
Posts You May Also Be Interested In
Is it Time For a Network Security Audit?