Google is advising its 2 billion users to change their Gmail passwords due to widespread email attacks. According to Evan Kotsovinos, Google’s vice-president of privacy, safety, and security, 61% of U.S. consumers have been targeted by email scams, with a third experiencing data breaches.
Kotsovinos urged users to replace passwords with passkeys, a more secure authentication method that relies on biometric verification like face or fingerprint recognition. Passkeys are resistant to phishing and eliminate the need to remember complex passwords.
Passkeys function using a pair of cryptographic keys: a public key stored on Google’s servers and a private key kept on the user’s device. This system ensures that login credentials cannot be intercepted or guessed, securing the sign-in process against hacking attempts.
To switch to passkeys, users should have a compatible device and browser, such as Windows 10, macOS Ventura, or ChromeOS 109 and above, combined with smartphones running iOS 16 or Android 9 or later. Users on Apple devices must enable iCloud Keychain. Google provides a simple three-step process to set up passkeys through account security settings.
Implementing passkeys helps protect Gmail accounts from ongoing cyberattacks that often use AI-driven techniques, significantly enhancing user security.