Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

TechCrunch/Flickr
make some noise

Google invests in audio passwords with SlickLogin purchase

The company has purchased SlickLogin, a company that uses soundwaves as a type of password

PASSWORDS ON GOOGLE may see an update after the company latest purchase deals with creating audio passwords

SlickLogin, an year old startup based in Israel, is responsible for developing a security system that uses soundwaves to verify a user’s identity.

It does this by playing a uniquely generated, almost-silent sound from your computer’s speakers, which is picked up by an app on your phone. The app analyses the sound and sends a signal back to confirm the user’s identity.

According to Techcrunch, the service was built to be used either as a password replacement or as a secondary layer on top of a traditional password. Google already has two-step verification, which requires users to enter in a code sent to the user’s phone via SMS.

Neither side has revealed details of the purchase, but SlickLogin said in a statement:

Today we`re announcing that the SlickLogin team is joining Google, a company that shares our core beliefs that logging in should be easy instead of frustrating, and authentication should be effective without getting in the way.

Google was the first company to offer 2-step verification to everyone, for free – and they’re working on some great ideas that will make the internet safer for everyone. We couldn’t be more excited to join their efforts.

SlickLogin was founded a year ago, but has yet to release the soundwave technology commercially. The company is the second security-related firm Google has purchased this year after buying cyber security firm Impermium in January.

Read: How to create strong and secure passwords >

Read: ’123456′ tops list of worst passwords of 2013 >

Your Voice
Readers Comments
19
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.