Author name: Rebecca Morris

Rebecca is a science and technology writer based in Minnesota. She has a PhD in Logic, Computation and Methodology from Carnegie Mellon University. You can visit her personal site at rebeccaleamorris.com

A blue Yubico Security Key in its packaging on a red keyboard.

How to Protect Your Twitter Account with Security Keys

According to a survey I ran, receiving a code via text is the most popular type of two-factor authentication (2FA). Security conscious Twitter users were therefore probably disappointed to learn that SMS 2FA will only be available to Twitter Blue subscribers from March 20th. However, non-Twitter Blue subscribers can still protect their accounts with 2FA

How to Protect Your Twitter Account with Security Keys Read More »

Twitter to Paywall SMS-Based Two-Factor Authentication

Yesterday Elon Musk unveiled his latest attempt to monetize Twitter: paywalling SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA). Per Twitter’s blog post, “accounts with text message 2FA still enabled will have it disabled” on March 20th, unless they are a Twitter Blue subscriber. Twitter’s blog post emphasized SMS-based 2FA’s security problems as the reason behind the change. However,

Twitter to Paywall SMS-Based Two-Factor Authentication Read More »

Namecheap Customers Receive Phishing Emails

Last week, Namecheap’s official email accounts were used to send phishing emails to the domain registrar’s customers. One such message asked recipients to pay a fee so DHL could deliver their parcel. Another instructed recipients to submit personal information to stop their MetaMask accounts from being closed. Fortunately, sharp-eyed users noticed something amiss when they

Namecheap Customers Receive Phishing Emails Read More »

A key on a phishing hook, laying on a keyboard.

Two-Factor Authentication Bypassed in Reddit Breach

Online discussion forum Reddit reported on Thursday that its systems had been breached following a sophisticated phishing attack. In the breach notification, Reddit CTO Christopher Slowe, aka KeyserSosa, explained that the hacker “sent out plausible-sounding prompts pointing employees to a website that cloned the behavior of [Reddit’s] intranet gateway, in an attempt to steal credentials

Two-Factor Authentication Bypassed in Reddit Breach Read More »

Underneath the text "Most popular" is a bar graph with pink bars of varying length.

What’s the Most Popular Form of Two-Factor Authentication in 2023?

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself wondering what the most popular form of two-factor authentication (2FA) is.  Is it the least secure but temptingly convenient SMS-based 2FA that sends you a code via text? Or the more secure but somewhat cumbersome authenticator app that generates codes on your phone? What about the ultra-secure

What’s the Most Popular Form of Two-Factor Authentication in 2023? Read More »

A broken lock with the word "security" on it lays on top of a keyboard.

4 Ways Attackers Can Bypass Two-Factor Authentication and How to Protect Yourself

Enabling two factor authentication (2FA) on your accounts is one of the best ways to keep them safe. But 2FA is not bulletproof. In this post we’ll look at four ways cybercriminals can bypass it and what you can do to protect yourself. How secure is 2FA? Let’s start with a reminder about how 2FA

4 Ways Attackers Can Bypass Two-Factor Authentication and How to Protect Yourself Read More »

A hooded man sits in front of a laptop. Between him and the laptop is an unlocked lock and the word "data" is printed repeatedly throughout the air.

What You Should Do After T-Mobile’s Most Recent Data Breach

T-Mobile has yet again suffered a data breach, this time affecting 37 million customers. The company reported in a press release that criminals pilfered customer names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth and account numbers by abusing a piece of software called an API that allows computer programs to talk to each other.  T-Mobile emphasized

What You Should Do After T-Mobile’s Most Recent Data Breach Read More »