Facebook To Allow Physical Security Keys Next Year

Facebook is to bolster the security of people’s accounts next year, with the use of third party hardware security keys.

Security keys will tighten up user logins, as they are used as a way to verify a person’s identity before logging into the social network’s mobile app.

Until now, Facebook had only offered the option to use a hardware security key to connect to a desktop computer before each log-in. Now this will be extended to the mobile app, Reuters reported, citing an earlier report from Axios.

Security key

The idea is that users purchase a hardware key from third party suppliers, and register it with Facebook, the company told Reuters.

Another security enhancement will reportedly see the social network expand Facebook Protect -its security program for high-profile accounts – to more types of accounts globally next year.

That move comes after the Twitter hack earlier this year, that resulted in Twitter accounts of very public figures and corporations including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, tweeting a bitcoin scam that offered to double people’s bitcoin payment.

Facebook Protect is another two-factor authentication measure and is currently only available in the US. It will be made available to users such as journalists and human rights activists who are at a higher risk of being targeted by sophisticated hackers, Facebook told Reuters.

Facebook has been steadily increasing the security of its platform over the years, including adding additional user security to safeguard accounts.

Back in 2010 for example, Facebook offered users the ability to review recent log-ins on their account and reset the password if the user sees log-ins that they don’t recognise.