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!

Talk to our teamTalk to our team

Share this article:


  • Yubico delivers PIN advancements with new YubiKey 5 – Enhanced PIN keysTo prepare for continuously evolving cyber threats, governments around the world are adapting and updating authentication requirements for online services which directly impact thousands of organizations and their employees. While there’s currently no universal regulation for more robust multi-factor authentication (MFA), the need is highlighted across a range of requirements including PSD2, GDPR, and the […]Read moreCompany NewsProduct NewsYubiKeyYubiKey 5 – Enhanced PINYubiKey 5 SeriesYubiKey as a Service
  • Yubico LogoYubico liefert PIN-Verbesserungen mit dem neuen YubiKey 5 – Verbesserte PIN-SchlüsselUm sich auf die sich ständig weiterentwickelnden Cyber-Bedrohungen vorzubereiten, passen Regierungen weltweit die Authentifizierungsanforderungen für Online-Dienste an und aktualisieren sie, was direkte Auswirkungen auf viele Unternehmen und deren Mitarbeiter hat. Zwar gibt es derzeit keine universelle Regelung für eine robustere Multi-Faktor-Authentifizierung (MFA), doch wird deren Notwendigkeit in einer Reihe von Anforderungen hervorgehoben, darunter PSD2, DSGVO […]Read moreYubiKey
  • An inside look at Yubico’s transition to passwordlessBefore “passkey” became a familiar term in our industry, Yubico had long delivered hardware-backed and phishing-resistant FIDO2 based authentication. Today, the adoption of passkey usage is accelerating. However, it’s taken quite a bit longer to integrate passwordless authentication into the everyday, enterprise-grade authentication flows that are required for today’s businesses.  As long as it’s been […]Read moreOktapasswordless
  • Mission matters – my reflections on winning the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year “This is the biggest mission any of the entrepreneurs have presented in this competition.”  I heard these words a few weeks ago from one of the judges for the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year award program – whom I had the honor to meet during the final step of the world’s largest entrepreneur competition.  […]Read moreawardsFounderStina Ehrensvard