Image from Iconfinder
Login passwords will some day become redundant if Google’s new plan, announced yesterday, eventually works.
It said it was launching a new form of secure login for business customers called, “context-aware access.” Instead of relying solely on users to set up two-factor authentication, etc, context-aware access will allow administrators for G Suite businesses put a set of parameters in place that can prevent malicious 3rd party access.
The new system envisages logging in with context to a user. Eg: Where they’re logging in from, the IP of the machine they’re using, etc. Google announced this on the 2nd day of the company’s Cloud Next conference in San Francisco, US.
“Context-aware access allows organizations to define and enforce granular access to GCP APIs, resources, G Suite, & third-party SaaS apps based on a user’s identity, location, and the context of their request,” Google explained.
The idea is an extension of Google BeyondCorp project, which began as an internal Google initiative to enable every employee to work from untrusted networks without the use of a VPN. BeyondCorp is used by most Googlers every day, to provide user & device based authentication & authorization for Google’s core infrastructure.