WASHINGTON: Apple today announced a major move towards a more secured iOS environment by putting in two-step authentication process to iMessage and FaceTime. With the latest update, Apple is providing users with a toggle button to enable/disable two-step authentication.
So how does this work ? Well, from now on, even if an attacker or an unknown entity gets access to your Apple ID and password, he/she will still be required to use a PIN from an existing trusted device to gain access to your iMessage or FaceTime account.
Also, it isn’t just a second user which will be required to go through the two-step authentication. If you log out from your device, and then try to log in again, you too will be prompted with two-step authentication (if you had enabled it earlier).
You can relate it to iCloud’s two-factor authentication or KeyChain’s password syncing system for Apple devices. Also, if you had previously enabled two-factor authentication for iCloud, it will get enabled for iMessage and FaceTime as well.
This is indeed a welcome step, as it makes it harder to gain access to personal and sensitive information stored in a device. But it isn’t just Facetime or iMessage, Apple is reportedly planning to roll-out the service on a full-scale level soon, which will cover your entire device.
