Google brings passkeys to its Advanced Protection Program

It's finally dropping the physical key component of its top cybersecurity service.

Anna Washenko
·Contributing Reporter
·1-min read
Reuters / Reuters

Google is adding passkey support to its Advanced Protection Program. APP is the company's highest-level security option. It's intended for targets who could be at high risk of hacks or other scams, such as elected officials or human rights workers, and it previously required a physical security key to use. In Google's announcement today, it acknowledged that the physical component made APP less feasible for some of the people who need the service most. Now, people who enroll in APP can opt for a passkey or for a physical key.

Google was one of many tech companies to start offering passkeys for security, rolling out the option to Android and Chrome in 2022 and offering them to all Google accounts in 2023. Earlier this year, Google said that more than 400 million accounts have used passkeys more than 1 billion times. And that's a big number, but on the whole, uptake of this technology has still been gradual.

In addition to adding passkey support, Google also shared that it is partnering with media nonprofit Internews to provide cybersecurity support for its network of journalists and human rights advocates. The arrangement will cover ten countries, including Brazil, Mexico and Poland.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • Huawei plans tri-fold smartphone as Apple weighs foldable iPhone, reports say

    The foldable smartphone market is set for a big boost amid reports that Apple is preparing a clamshell-style model, while Huawei Technologies may soon launch a tri-folding handset. Apple's top-down folding iPhone could come as early as 2026, according to a report by The Information on Wednesday. The US tech giant has reached out to Asian suppliers in recent months to make components for its first foldable handset, according to the report, citing anonymous sources. This would mark Apple's entry i

  • My long-term iPhone 15 Pro Max review

    I’ve been using the iPhone 15 Pro Max for over six months to come to my long-term verdict on the big-screen flagship with excellent cameras and battery life.

  • Startup with ‘radical’ concept for AI chips emerges from stealth with $15 million to try to challenge Nvidia

    Fractile thinks it can deliver 100 times faster performance 10 times cheaper than GPUs.

  • CrowdStrike says over 97% of Windows sensors back online

    The outage happened because the advanced platform contained a fault that forced computers running Microsoft's Windows operating system to crash and show the so-called blue screen of death. Microsoft said on Saturday about 8.5 million Windows devices had been affected in the outage that had left flights grounded, forced broadcasters off air and left customers without access to services such as healthcare or banking."Our recovery efforts have been enhanced thanks to the development of automatic recovery techniques and by mobilizing all our resources to support our customers," Kurtz said in a post on LinkedIn.

  • BofA payments app for businesses handled record $500 billion by mid-year

    Bank of America’s corporate clients approved a record $500 billion in payments through its CashPro app by mid-year, up almost 40% versus the same period in 2023, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Payments on the app are projected to exceed $1 trillion this year from $802 billion last year, BofA said. Global payments revenues rose to more than $2.2 trillion in 2022, with commercial accounts generating 53% of the total, the report showed.

  • Amazon racing to develop AI chips cheaper, faster than Nvidia's, executives say

    Inside Amazon.com's chip lab in Austin, Texas, half a dozen engineers on a Friday afternoon put a closely guarded new server design through its paces. The server was packed with Amazon's artificial intelligence chips that compete with those from market leader Nvidia, Amazon executive Rami Sinno said on Friday, during a visit to the lab. Amazon is developing its own processors to limit its reliance on costly Nvidia chips - the so-called Nvidia tax - that power some of the artificial intelligence cloud business at its Amazon Web Services, the main growth driver.

  • Southco Introduces A Flush-Mount E6-73 Constant Torque Hinge

    HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 26 July 2024 - Southco Asia Ltd., a subsidiary of Southco Inc., a leading global provider of engineered access solutions such as locks, latches, captive fasteners, electronic access solutions, and hinges/positioning technology, has developed a flush-mount version of its popular E6 constant torque hinge. The E6-73 Stainless Steel Constant Torque Hinge provides all the benefits of a torque hinge in a low-profile, corrosion-resistant package, making it an i

  • SearchGPT unveiled: OpenAI is launching a search engine to compete with Google

    Here’s how you can sign up to be among the first to try the new AI-powered search tool

  • Apple falls off list of China's top 5 smartphone shippers: IDC

    Apple's (AAPL) iPhone shipments to China slid even further in the second quarter, according to IDC. The US-based tech giant is no longer on the list of the top five smartphone shippers in the country, falling to sixth place. Apple has faced increased competition from domestic smartphone manufacturers, such as Huawei, in China's consumer market. Seana Smith and Jared Blikre report the latest figures from Apple and what they signal about the iPhone and iPad maker's presence in global markets. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: AirPods clones that actually deliver

    The Galaxy Buds 3 series offers two sets of great earbuds, but Samsung borrowed heavily from Apple to design them.

  • OpenAI announces testing of new search engine, SearchGPT

    OpenAI — which Microsoft (MSFT) owns a 49% stake in — is stepping into the search engine game. In a move that could rival Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google search, the artificial intelligence developer unveiled its SearchGPT engine. The Market Domination team analyzes OpenAI's blog post outlining what it hopes to achieve in this search platform. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • OpenAI unveils SearchGPT, an AI-powered search engine

    The launch of SearchGPT comes amid growing competition in AI-powered search.

  • Chinese AI start-up Baichuan raises US$700 million from Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi

    Baichuan AI, one of China's four so-called artificial intelligence (AI) tigers, raised about 5 billion yuan (US$687.6 million) in a new funding round that valued the start-up at more than 20 billion yuan, the company said on Thursday. The Beijing-based firm's latest round was backed by some of the biggest names in Chinese technology, including Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings and Xiaomi, along with some state-backed funds. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. China International Cap

  • North Korean hackers stole military secrets, FBI reveals

    A North Korean hacking group stole secrets about satellites and warplanes from Nasa, US air bases and defence contractors, the FBI has revealed, as it launched a hunt to catch the perpetrators.

  • CrowdStrike offers $10 gift card apology for $5bn outage

    Some of the Uber Eats gift cards offered to partners were flagged as fraud

  • £7.7 million bounty offered in hunt for members of North Korea-backed hacking group

    The UK, US and South Korea have accused a North Korea-backed cyber group of carrying out an online espionage campaign to steal military and nuclear secrets. The "Andariel" group has been compromising organisations around the globe as it attempts to get hold of sensitive and classified technical information and intellectual property data, according to the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The centre, along with the FBI in the US and South Korea's national intelligence service, have issued a joint warning and advisory note about Andariel's actions.

  • Get an Apple AirTag tracking device for the lowest price we've seen in months

    Keep a watchful eye on your keys, wallet, luggage, and more with an Apple AirTag. Get the tracker on sale at Amazon for just $24, the lowest price we've seen in months.

  • Rosalía goes braless and *almost* frees the nip in a lace naked dress

    Rosalía stepped out wearing a breathtaking naked dress at the Prelude to the Olympics in Paris. The design was a nude coloured see-through lace gown by Dior.

  • ‘I Approve This Message’: Kamala Harris Instantly Uses Trump’s Own Words Against Him

    That didn’t take long.

  • Harris campaign roasts Trump as ‘old and quite weird’ after Fox News insults

    Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called in to Fox News Thursday, where he told supporters that presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is a “radical left, not very smart person” who’s part of a massive conspiracy to weaponize the nation’s legal system against him. Harris’ campaign fired back mere minutes later with an email blasting the “78-year-old convicted criminal’s Fox ...