X, before Twitter, today Announced support for passcodes, a new and more secure login method than traditional passwords, which will become an option for US users on iOS devices. The technology has been adopted lately by several apps including PayPal, TikTok, WhatsApp and others.
Pioneered by Google, Apple, Microsoft, and the FIDO Alliance, along with the World Wide Web Consortium, passkey technology aims to make passwordless logins available across devices, operating systems, and web browsers. The feature arrived on iOS devices in September 2022 and on Google accounts last May. Unlike logins that rely solely on a username and password combination, passcodes use biometric authentication such as Face ID or Touch ID, a PIN, or a physical security authentication key to validate attempts. login. This process combines the benefits of two-factor authentication (2FA) in a single step, making the login process smoother and more secure at the same time.
The addition is particularly useful for X, given the high-profile attacks that have seen accounts on the service compromised by bad actors. For example, in January this year, US Securities and Exchange account X was hacked to share an unauthorized post about the approval of bitcoin ETFs. Other notable hacks included Donald Trump Jr.'s account Biden, and even the account of X owner Elon Musk, among others. In that case, the accounts were used to post a message promoting a bitcoin wallet address with the promise of doubling payments in return. (This hack predated Musk's acquisition of Twitter, now called X.)
In the days after Musk's acquisition of Twitter/X, the company removed another security measure that helped keep accounts safe when it announced last year that it would no longer support SMS 2FA for non-paying accounts. Twitter (it was Twitter then, not X!) justified the change, probably a cost-cutting measure, saying: saying Bad actors could abuse the method, as in the case of SIM swaps. However, the reality was that removing the security protection made Twitter less secure as a result.
shared instructions on how to start using passcodes on iOS but the company did not say when the option would be available on other platforms or in more markets beyond the US.
