Dashlane, a New York-based mobile security provider conducted a survey recently and came to a conclusion that most of the popular websites are not well equipped when it comes to protecting their customer’s critical data with two-factor authentication.
Note 1- 2FA or 2 Factor Authentication adds an extra layer of security protection to a service or account before a ‘login’ can be completed. It works commonly alongside a password when a 4 or 6 digit number is sent to a user via SMS, Email or Application in order to gain access. Companies like Google have taken a step ahead by offering hardware tokens such as USB sticks.
The Security firm released a list of the safest websites prevailing on the internet yesterday and also ranked the worst performing commercial sites in order to enlighten the website users about the cybersecurity vulnerabilities they might experience when they visit those sites in future.
After analyzing all the security parameters of websites which the populace of UK and US use on a daily or weekly basis, Dashlane assigned a ‘Pass’ score to those who were enriched with adequate security measures.
Dashlane’s 2018 UK Rankings include
• 5/5 points- PASS- Facebook, Google, Twitter, Battle.net(gaming website).
• 2/5 Points- Means Failed- Amazon, Apple, Evernote, Instagram, Patreon, and Slack
• 1/5 Points- Completely failed- LinkedIn, Yahoo!, Indeed, eBay and Airbnb
• 0/5 Points- disastrous- Trip Advisor and Asos
Note 2- Dashlane evaluated the security options of the above said websites on desktop browsers only and did not take into account the login attempts made on mobile apps, mobile browsers, and desktop apps.
Dashlane’s 2018 US Rankings include
• 5/5 points- PASS- Bank of America, Dropbox, Etrade, Facebook, Google, Stripe, Twitter, and Wells Fargo
• 2/5 Points- Failed- Amazon, Apple, Betterment, Capital One, Evernote, Gemini, GoDaddy, Instagram, Intuit, Slack, Square and WhatsApp
• 1/5 Points- Completely failed- LinkedIn, Yahoo!, Airbnb, American Express, Chase, Citibank, Discover, Mint, and Venmo
• 0/5 Points- disastrous- Best Buy, Next Door, Task Rabbit, ZocDoc
Note 3- The points were offered on the following basis- A site offering SMS or/and email 2FA was awarded 1 point. For a site offering software token options 1 point was awarded and sites offering hardware token options were awarded 3 points out of a maximum point’s tally of 5.
Note 4- Dashlane conducted the surveys in all major cities of the UK, US, and Europe. And the list from Europe is yet to be revealed.
