U2F Security Key Cuts Google AdWords Fraud

After a successful deployment of FIDO U2F enabled YubiKeys for all its staff, Google is now seeing the benefits of offering the technology to its customers with AdWords accounts.

Hijacking of online advertising accounts not only costs customers whose accounts get bumped offline, but Google loses revenue when those accounts are dormant. The Association of National Advertisers estimates that $7.2 billion will be lost to digital ad fraud in 2016.

As the world's leading digital advertising network, Google is fighting back. In a recently published blog, the company highlights how two digital marketing agencies, Jellyfish and iProspect, protect their AdWords accounts, customers, and revenue using FIDO U2F Security Keys by Yubico.

AdWords users were trained in the simple three-step process to register the FIDO U2F Security Key with their Google accounts. On subsequent use, users only need to touch the key in order to securely log in. Jellyfish rolled out FIDO U2F Security Keys by Yubico to all team members in the UK and South Africa, and iProspect says the security key provides peace of mind that Google accounts are safe.

One of the most important features of the FIDO U2F protocol is the ability to defeat rapidly increasing phishing and man-in-the-middle security attacks. Google’s 2-Step Verification mobile technologies do not offer the same level of protection against these attacks.

Historically, great security has come with high cost and complexity. Yubico changes the equation. Check out the short video Google produced to explain the importance and simplicity of using 2-Step Verification with FIDO U2F Security Keys by Yubico.

Additionally, Google will be having a live broadcast "How to Protect Your AdWords Account" on Thursday, February 16th at 4:00 PM GMT / 11:00 AM EDT / 8:00 AM PDT.  The Online Safety Series will cover key topics in online safety, such as account hijacking prevention, recognizing bad websites, adherence to Google policies, and online privacy. RSVP for this Google Advertiser Community Event!