Bangalore: Cybercrime victims need no longer fear; for two of the premier Internet companies are bolstering the security of their services. Shortly, users will be allowed to access their Facebook and Google accounts only after plugging in a special “token,” and keying in their password, reports OppTrends.

Last December, a number of top websites like Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube were hacked and about two million usernames and passwords fell into the wrong hands. However, Facebook came clean by announcing they were not at fault, and that the passwords were hacked from infected computers elsewhere. An independent research by the security firm SpiderLabs revealed that a vast majority used simple numeric passwords along the lines of “123456.”

In the light of these incidents, Google and Facebook are experimenting with a new security procedure that would enable users to access their favorite websites only after inserting a physical token that is no bigger than a memory stick. These cryptographic cards contain the dynamic security information that changes over time. According to Facebook’s security engineer, John Flynn, the company is monitoring various new authentication technologies and this hardware authentication is a part of the system. While two of the Internet giants are already in the testing phase by implementing this in their workplaces, Microsoft is still undecided on this technology.

Cyber security experts say this is a step in the right direction, especially when users are falling victim because of using “dumb passwords.” While this will provide the much needed security, doubts remain over the large-scale implementation of this technology.

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