News

Passwords Are No Longer Required To Sign Into Google Accounts

Google will allow users to replace passwords and 2FA with passkeys.

Published

4 years ago

May 4, 2023

Nour Nasir

Google

Google has taken a step towards a passwordless future, announcing that passkey functionality is being added to all Google accounts.

Passkeys are cryptographic tools that allow users to ditch passwords and two-factor verification when signing in. Google, along with Apple and Microsoft, are keen to push the technology, which uses a local PIN or a device’s biometric tools such as fingerprint scanners or Face ID.

Biometric data from passkeys isn’t shared with third parties and only exists on a user’s device, providing enhanced security since no passwords can be hacked or stolen.

When a passkey is added to a Google account, users will be prompted for it on new sign-ins or when potentially suspicious activity is detected. Passkeys can be stored on any compatible hardware, including iPhones with iOS 16 and Android devices running Android 9 and above. Users can access passkeys on other devices by using services such as iCloud or password managers like 1Password. In addition, Google also allows the following:

Accounts can be accessed temporarily using someone else’s device by selecting “use a passkey from another device” to create a one-time sign-in.
Passkeys can be revoked immediately in the account settings section if a user suspects a security breach, or a device is lost or stolen.
Users of Google’s Advanced Protection Program (a free service providing additional security against phishing and malware) can use passkeys instead of physical security keys.

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If you’d prefer to log in to your account the traditional way, Google will continue to support regular passwords for the foreseeable future, allowing users without a biometric device to make the change once they eventually upgrade their hardware.

News

ESET Bets On Specialized Security AI At 0.5% The Training Cost

ESET says NeoCortex can estimate an attacker’s next move, with a kill switch and human oversight built in to keep it from going rogue.

Published

2 days ago

November 4, 2026

Dana Saadeh

eset bets on specialized security ai at 0.5% the training cost

A sign-in anomaly, a suspicious process launch and an unusual connection may look harmless alone. Together, they can describe an intrusion that is hard for security to teams to piece together.

To solve that problem, ESET announced ESET NeoCortex on November 4, 2026: a specialized foundational AI model for cybersecurity. It powers ESET LiveCortex, available within the ESET PROTECT Platform, which connects fragmented security signals and turns them into actionable incidents.

Filtering is the main selling point, with LiveCortex processing billions of raw telemetry events daily, and just 0.00111% of them contributing to incidents presented to customers. The aim is less alert fatigue and more analyst time spent on threats that matter.

NeoCortex is built on world-model architecture, learning how digital environments behave and how events relate. ESET says that lets it reconstruct missing incident context, recognize similar past cases and estimate an attacker’s likely next step – what the company calls “minus-one-day defense,” a chance to intervene before the next stage unfolds. ESET points to Black October, the week leading up to October 25, 2026, when critical security issues affecting PHP, Linux, GitLab and other key systems demanded rapid, prioritized responses, as the kind of moment where that context matters.

ESET’s internal research also suggests a specialized model like NeoCortex can be trained at up to 200 times lower cost than a large general reasoning model, while delivering more accurate, defense-focused results. The company credits optimized training, a focus on cybersecurity vocabulary, lower computing requirements and privately owned hardware.

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“AI is accelerating both cyberattacks and cyberdefenses. With ESET NeoCortex, we are applying our AI investment to develop specialized foundational cybersecurity intelligence that remains under our control and strengthens, rather than replaces, human expertise,” said Juraj Malcho, Chief Technology Officer at ESET.

As part of the design, NeoCortex forms part of a layered architecture combining specialized models, deterministic controls, correlation logic, validation, auditability and expert human oversight. Safeguards include restricted sandboxes, read-only tools, continuous monitoring, defined usage and token limits, a kill switch and human oversight of critical response decisions. The model is also developed and self-hosted on ESET’s own infrastructure, which the company says reduces exposure to shifts among third-party AI providers, including commercial and geopolitical ones.