Google says default two-step verification cut account breaches by 50%

San Francisco: Tech giant Google said that Google account hacks dropped by half after it pushed two-step verification (2SV) by default in 2021.

Last year, the company said it auto-enrolled over 150 million people in two-step verification. As a result of this effort, the company saw a 50 per cent decrease in accounts being compromised.

“We provide easy, simple-to-use tools like Security Checkup to give you actionable recommendations on how to strengthen the security of your Google Account,” the company said in a blogpost.

Google mentioned that coming next month, users will be able to opt into Google’s account-level enhanced safe browsing feature — which provides the company’s broadest security protection against threats users encounter on the web and against their Google Account.

Along with that, to develop free, online lessons that will help teach people how to stay safe online, Google has joined hands with non-profit educational organisation Khan Academy.

Google said that it will contribute $5 million so that Khan Academy can create accessible, easy to understand and actionable online safety content for its 18 million monthly users around the globe.A

“Last year alone, searches for “how to stop identity theft” spiked over 110 per cent, so we know people are looking for tips on how to protect themselves online,” the company said in a blogpost.

“Our previous work in educating people about online safety has shown us the positive impact this can have. To expand our impact, we are excited to be partnering with Khan Academy to make internet safety more accessible for everyone,” it added.