ID: IRCNE2013031792
Date: 2013-03-22
According to “CNet”, Apple yesterday added an extra layer of security to its Apple ID system that can harden the password people use to log in to various Apple services.
Users with an Apple ID can now sign up for two-step verification of their password, a system that sends a four-digit passcode by text message to a user's phone, and must be used on top of a regular password. In practice, this could keep an account from being compromised by an attacker, unless that person had access to the mobile device too.
The move comes a little less than a year after Apple required users to set up security questions for their online accounts, a common security measure that was notably absent. Once two-step verification is enabled, there are no longer security questions to remember.
"Apple takes customer privacy very seriously, and two-step verification is an even more robust process to ensure our user's data remains protected," an Apple spokesperson told CNET. "We are now offering our users the choice to take advantage of this additional layer of security."
Of note, the feature is currently available only in the U.S., U.K, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Apple is the latest tech company to employ the security feature, which was discovered earlier by 9to5mac, as an option. Google, which has quite a few more online services than Apple, added it as an option in early 2011. Others, including Facebook, Yahoo, PayPal, and Dropbox already had the option.
Apple's user base at its various stores and other online stores continues to grow. Its last official number, released in January, put it at "over 500 million active accounts."
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