Google may soon roll out a new feature to better protect user passwords – but the catch is that it’ll all be done automatically.
The password manager currently offered in Chrome keeps a secure record of usernames and passwords used across the internet, to compare it with lists of compromised credentials that have been disclosed in hacks or data breaches.
If a user’s password has been made public, Chrome issues a warning and advises the individual to go back to the website in question to create a new one.
This last step in the process could soon change, however, with automation being used so that users don’t need to manually update records themselves. This could offer better protections as data breaches and security concerns become, unfortunately, more commonplace.
By automating the process, passwords can be changed immediately, rather than waiting for an individual to receive the warning (and, more crucially, to act upon it).
Another benefit of the feature comes in the form of more secure passwords being used as standard. An AI password generator will follow best practices, using long strings of text, numbers and special characters to generate login credentials that are much more difficult to crack than the likes of ‘password123’.
This change could also have a seismic impact on the cybersecurity world, with Chrome being the most popular browser by some distance, said to have some 3.5 billion users around the world. Should all of their passwords become much more secure (and do so immediately after stolen data goes public), it will severely disincentivise would-be hackers and anyone looking to buy data on the dark web.
For now the ‘Automated Password Change’ feature remains in its testing phase and is currently only available for select websites. However, it’s expected the feature will be offered much more widely before too long – not least because other big players in the password manager marketplace (among them Bitwarden and Nordpass) have implemented similar features of their own – to much celebration.
