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Twitter Debuts Two-Factor Authentication

Twitter is rolling out an optional, new two-factor authentication process that will make it tougher for hackers to take over Twitter accounts. The new feature comes in the wake of several high-profile incidents where news media Twitter feeds were hijacked. USA Today’s Brett Molina reported, “Twitter has added two-factor authentication to its social network, bolstering […]

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Cynthia Harvey

May 23, 2013

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Twitter is rolling out an optional, new two-factor authentication process that will make it tougher for hackers to take over Twitter accounts. The new feature comes in the wake of several high-profile incidents where news media Twitter feeds were hijacked.

USA Today’s Brett Molina reported, “Twitter has added two-factor authentication to its social network, bolstering security after several high-profile account hacks including the Associated Press.”

Salvador Rodriguez with the Los Angeles Times explained, “The verification method makes it harder for hackers to take over Twitter accounts that don’t belong to them by requiring that users enter their password as well as a special code that is sent to their phone when they try to log in. The code does not generate until the user attempts to log in, and it changes each time they do.”

CNN’s Doug Gross noted, “Last month, The Associated Press’s Twitter account was compromised by someone who falsely tweeted that there had been a bombing at the White House. It was the latest in a laundry list of media organizations hacked in recent months. Among them: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Bloomberg News, CBS, ’60 Minutes’ and ’48 Hours.'”

InformationWeek quoted Mark Risher, CEO of Impermium, who said, “It’s great that Twitter has released this feature, which significantly raises the bar for broad-based attacks. As an optional feature, however, we now need to ensure that users opt-in and utilize it; two-factor does nothing if you haven’t configured it in advance.”