Text Messaging Featured Article

Text messaging is such a big part of our culture when it comes to how we speak to each other. It’s quick, effective, and has even transitioned into a useful marketing tool for businesses looking to tap into the saturated mobile market. Text messaging can go beyond the social means by which we use it when it comes to security.

Companies like Google (News - Alert) and Facebook introduced last year a two-factor authentication system in which users register a phone number and email address, and then the services will verify your identity by sending an SMS text with a six-digit code you have to enter to complete the process.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is all the rage at the moment with many big name Web sites introducing it as an additional safeguard against password compromises. Most banks already make two-factor authentication compulsory for accessing online services.

It’s a pretty decent measure to take when protecting your online accounts. Common places that offer 2FA are Google, Apple, Twitter, PayPal, Yahoo Mail and LinkedIn (News - Alert).

Perhaps 2FA seems like a bit of a hassle for some to set up, but the few minutes it takes could mean a heck of a lot less of worrying.  Some experts feel 2FA offers a false sense of security, noting that cyber thieves use Trojan-horse malware that tricks a person into approving an attacker’s transaction without knowing it. Malware on users’ phones that intercepts SMS messages and sends them to an attacker is also becoming more common.

Others say that each 2FA implementation has different ways to handle account security, and that the benefits outweigh the risks by far.

Research from Tyntec says that because of its user-friendliness, cost effectiveness and high level of security, the emerging verification method of choice is SMS-based 2FA.  According to the report, global IT managers plan or consider the adoption of sending One-Time Passwords (OTPs) in 2014 to improve online security.

Passwords are becoming less secure all the time, and hackers are getting better at cracking them. Enabling 2FA via text message provides an extra layer of security at a negligible cost while using an already popular and handy technology.