Twitter introduced yesterday that as of March 20, it’s going to solely permit its customers to safe their accounts with SMS-based two-factor authentication in the event that they pay for a Twitter Blue subscription. Two-factor authentication, or 2FA, requires customers to log in with a username and password after which an extra “issue” reminiscent of a numeric code. Safety consultants have lengthy suggested that individuals use a generator app to get these codes. However receiving them in SMS textual content messages is a well-liked various, so eradicating that possibility for unpaid customers has left safety consultants scratching their heads.
Twitter’s two-factor transfer is the most recent in a collection of controversial coverage modifications since Elon Musk acquired the corporate final yr. The paid service Twitter Blue—the one approach to get a blue verified checkmark on Twitter accounts now—prices $11 per thirty days on Android and iOS and fewer for a desktop-only subscription. Customers being booted off of SMS-based two-factor authentication could have the choice to modify to an authenticator app or a bodily safety key.
“Whereas traditionally a preferred type of 2FA, sadly, we’ve seen phone-number-based 2FA be used—and abused—by dangerous actors,” Twitter wrote in a blog post revealed Friday night. “So beginning right now, we are going to not permit accounts to enroll within the textual content message/SMS technique of 2FA until they’re Twitter Blue subscribers.”
In a July 2022 report about account security, Twitter stated that solely 2.6 p.c of its energetic customers have any kind of two-factor authentication enabled. Of these customers, practically 75 p.c have been utilizing the SMS model. Nearly 29 p.c have been utilizing authenticator apps, and fewer than 1 p.c had added a bodily authentication key.
SMS-based two-factor authentication is insecure as a result of attackers can hijack targets’ telephone numbers or use different methods to intercept the texts. However safety consultants have lengthy emphasised that utilizing SMS two-factor is considerably higher than having no second authentication issue enabled.
More and more, tech giants like Apple and Google have eradicated the choice for SMS two-factor and transitioned customers (sometimes over many months or years) to different types of authentication. Researchers fear that Twitter’s coverage change will confuse customers by giving them so little time to finish the transition and making SMS two-factor look like a premium function.
“The Twitter weblog is correct to level out that two-factor authentication that makes use of textual content messages is often abused by dangerous actors. I agree that it’s much less safe than different 2FA strategies,” says Lorrie Cranor, director of Carnegie Mellon’s usable privateness and safety lab. “But when their motivation is safety, would not they wish to hold paid accounts safe too? It does not make sense to permit the much less safe technique for paid accounts solely.”
Whereas the corporate says its modifications to two-factor will roll out in mid-March, Twitter customers with SMS two-factor turned on began encountering a pop-up overlay display screen on Friday that suggested them to take away two-factor fully or change to “the authentication app or safety key strategies.”
It’s unclear what’s going to occur if customers don’t disable SMS two-factor by the brand new deadline. The in-app message to customers implies that individuals who nonetheless have SMS two-factor turned on when the change formally occurs on March 20 will probably be locked out of their accounts. “To keep away from dropping entry to Twitter, take away text-message two-factor authentication by March 19, 2023,” the notification says. However Twitter’s weblog submit says that two-factor will merely be disabled on March 20 if customers do not modify it earlier than then. “After 20 March 2023, we are going to not allow non–Twitter Blue subscribers to make use of textual content messages as a 2FA technique,” the corporate wrote. “At the moment, accounts with textual content message 2FA nonetheless enabled could have it disabled.”
