The next generation of Google’s Titan security keys is here, bringing with it USB C connectivity.
Starting tomorrow, you will have an additional option: Google’s new USB-C Titan Security Key, compatible with your Android, Chrome OS, macOS, and Windows devices.
Titan keys are multi-factor authentication devices that can be used as a part of the sign-in process for several online services (Google, Twitter, Facebook, etc) as well as password management tools. They’re part of an authentication chain and are intended to prove that you are the owner of the account signing in, not an imposter.
Why Use Multi-Factor Authentication?
The Google security blog outlines a number of reasons to add multi-factor authentication to your accounts. Phishing, brute force attacks, insecure/shared passwords and data breaches are just a few.
Ultimately it boils down to this: the risks are increasing daily, with online data breaches compromising account security. A forum account probably doesn’t matter to you, but what would losing your primary Google account, or having your bank account compromised cost? I suspect the answer is “more than the cost of a security key” – it’s worth the investment.
For more reading, you should check out Duncan’s post about online security and password habits.
Australian Options
Titan is Google’s multi-factor security key brand, but they’re unfortunately not available in Australia. You can import them if you wish via a freight forwarder, but you probably don’t need to (and that also introduces risk in that someone could open your package and compromise your Titan key).
Google has partnered with Yubico to manufacture these new Titan keys, and Yubico does have a number of equivalent options available for us here via Amazon Australia.
There are a handful of Yubico resellers around Aus. Would be nice if Google actually brought the Titans directly though.
It boggles the mind that Google are incapable of rolling something like this into other markets outside the US.
I already extensively use a Yubikey 5, but I would consider this Titan for the USB-C if it was cheaper.