- Twitter accounts protected with a hardware security key can now log in
- Twitter to set up two-factor authentication (and security keys) here
- Security keys make certain kinds of account hacks near impossible
Twitter accounts protected with a hardware security key can now log in from their iPhone or Android device.
The social media giant rolled out support for hardware security keys in 2018, allowing users to add a physical security barrier to their accounts in place of other two-factor authentication options, like a text message or a code generated from an app.
Security keys are small enough to fit on a keyring but make certain kinds of account hacks near impossible by requiring a user to plug in the key when they log in. That means hackers on the other side of the planet can’t easily break into your account, even if they have a username and password.
Why does Twitter support hardware security keys?
Twitter now supports hardware security keys for iPhones and Android
Twitter added support for authenticator apps, but it still had to have a phone number on file until just last year, a danger given the ease of social engineering and SIM-swap attacks. Twitter’s allowed hardware 2FA keys on desktop for some time now, but the addition of the mobile apps further enhances user security.
Twitter is just another means of following content creators, making their accounts relatively low-value. For others, it’s a valuable part of the occupational toolset that merits as much protection as possible. Hardware-backed security may be slightly inconvenient at times, but it’s also the best way to protect something important online.
How does the change affect both iOS and Android Phones App?
The change affects both the Android and iOS Twitter apps, though it isn’t clear if it applies to other first-party apps like Periscope or TweetDeck. Twitter has instructions for how to set things up over on its support site.
If users don’t have a hardware security key, Yubico is giving folks $10 off their purchase of a single YubiKey hardware 2FA key for the next week with the coupon code TWITTER10.
