Switching to Google Apps can be a very productive step for a business. They take care of a lot of the heavy-lifting usually necessary for creating, sharing, and storing documents as well as collaboration and being productive as a company. One area that has always been in question is security. Google Apps makes things easier, but “organizations looking to secure their information beyond a password have faced costs and complexities that prevented many of them from using stronger security technologies.” This changes today as Google announces Two-step verification.
“Today we are changing that with the introduction of a more secure sign-in capability for Google Apps accounts that significantly increases the security of the cloud: Two-step verification. For the first time, we’re making it possible for organizations large and small to use this technology in just a few clicks for free.”
The idea is simple. In order to get into your account, you need something you know in combination with something you have. You know your password and you have a phone. After you put in your password, you will be asked for a verification code. This code is sent to your mobile phone via SMS, voice, or generated on an application you can install on your Android, BlackBerry or iPhone device. This means that, even if someone finds out your password, they probably still won’t be able to get into your account. You can also set trusted systems that don’t need two-step verification.
Two-step verification is built on open standards so that it can be integrated with other solutions in the future. The mobile application is open-source so that it companies using the new technology can customize it. This is one more step in “stream of security innovation” started by Google in 2009 when they added the ability to view password strength and set minimum lengths. HTTPS encryption came later that year and Google Apps became the first cloud messaging and collaboration service to gain US government security certification in 2010.
Administrators for Google Apps Premier, Education, and Government Editions can activate the feature now. Standard edition users will have it rolled out in the coming weeks. Individual Google users will also see the same security features in the coming months.