All four US major carriers are now working together. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint are now working hand-in-hand to develop pa more secure solution for two-factor authentication. All four companies are looking for a way to replace traditional text message with a method that’s much more secure.
Twi-factor authentication, also known as two-step verification, is a security step that many companies offer to their customers. This method has been adapted by more and more websites in the last several years. When you try to log in, a text is sent to you to enter a secondary code upon your login.
The problem with this now is that hackers are finding strategic ways to get around this. SMS isn’t a fully-secure form, so intercepting SMS doesn’t seem to be a big obstacle for hackers. This is a problem that has been known for quite a while, and now the four major wireless carriers are doing something about it.
The four major companies will be developing an “advanced mobile authentication solution” that will be able to analyze network activity patterns to tell “with a high degree of certainty” if the legitimate account owner is behind the request or not.
It’s not certain when things will go into place, but the companies are looking for a way to put into effect as soon as next year. This is definitely a good step in the right direction to improve security for both companies and consumers
