Apple known for it's off the charts security features was recently troubled with hacks, malware and phishing attacks staining its reputation and customer trust. And to counter that, Apple has again risen to strengthen its security and user experience - the tech company is planning on standardizing two-factor authentication (2FA) to prevent security issues and phishing scams.
PhoneArena.com reported that Apple engineers have put forward a proposal to enable a standardized format for a two-factor authentication login method where users receive a one time password (OTP) via SMS during login. The suggestion was given by engineers of Apple Webkit, from the Safari browser - the default mackintosh browser. The suggestion was also backed by engineers working on Chromium, Google.
The feature would use SMSs containing the login URL. Usually, with two-factor authentication users have to see their mobile or write down the code and then try to login which makes the whole process long and frustrating but Apple always tries to give the customer the best experience and to tackle this they have come up with a standardize and automated method.
What's different with this feature than the other two factor authentications is that it will standardize the process and format for the browser and mobile applications. The incoming messages will be easily identified by the browser or mobile applications, the browser will recognize and identify the web domain in the SMS and automatically extract the One Time Password (OTP) and complete the login. This will prevent the user from being scammed as the process will be automated and the browser or the mobile app will recognize the authentic source.
According to the report, "The proposal has two goals. The first is to introduce a way that OTP SMS messages can be associated with a URL. This is done by adding the login URL inside the SMS itself.
The second goal is to standardize the format of 2FA/OTP SMS messages, so browsers and other mobile apps can easily detect the incoming SMS, recognize web domain inside the message, and then automatically extract the OTP code and complete the login operation without further user interaction."After enabling the feature, browsers and apps will be automated and complete the login through 2FA (two-factor authentication ) by obtaining the OTP. In case of a mismatch, the automatic process will fail and the user will be able to see the website URL and complete the login process.
