Journalists, political campaigners, and activists are among the smaller set of users whom Google considers to be at a higher risk of sophisticated attacks. That is why the search giant introduced the Advanced Protection Program last October to protect the online security of those users by allowing only Google-built applications to gain access to their data if they were enrolled in the program.
Considering that iOS also figures in the digital experience of a large number of users, Google has moved to expand the scope of the security program to cover the native iOS apps including Apple Mail, Contacts, and Calendar. Additionally, the expanded support doesn't require iOS users to modify the way they use Google services on their devices once they sign up for the program. After enrolling in Advanced Protection Program, users will receive instructions for completing the sign-in process when they log in to a native iOS app using their Google account.
The program is meant to provide users with Google's robust security against phishing attacks by requiring the use of a physical security key as part of the process of logging back in to a user's account after signing out or once a user signs in using a new device. It also offers an additional layer of security as part of the recovery step in order to block illegitimate access to a user's account.
Dario Salice, Advanced Protection Product Manager at Google, says the company vows to extend access to Google data to more applications in the future and roll out the program to a broader set of users worldwide.
Source: Google via VentureBeat
