Google has announced it is taking steps to make using cloud-based applications more secure for its more than 3 million business users and 30 million individual users.
The internet giant will implement a new two-step verification process that helps to protect users from phishing scams and password re-use, regardless of the device they are using the access their account.
The company made the announcement on September 20 in Paris during its Google Atmosphere cloud computing event.
Google explained the process saying, "users sign in with the combination of their password (something they know) and a one-time verification code provided by a mobile phone (something they have)."
"After entering your password, a verification code is sent to your mobile phone via SMS, voice calls, or generated on an application you can install on your Android, BlackBerry or iPhone device. This makes it much more likely that you're the only one accessing your data: even if someone has stolen your password, they'll need more than that to access your account," said Google.
The implementation of extra security measures may go some way to appease existing consumers (and to entice new consumers) who are attracted by the benefits of Google's cloud-based solutions but worry about the safety of storing their valuable information in the cloud.
During the Google Atmosphere event, Google also revealed it will be introducing mobile editing in Google Docs for Android and iPad devices in next few weeks, enabling two or more users to "co-edit files simultaneously from an even wider array of devices."
Google's two-step verification feature is currently only available for organizations, however, within the next few months, the feature should be rolled out to Standard Edition and individual Google users too.
http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/09/more-secure-cloud-for-millions-of.html
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