It was long overdue, but Netflix has finally started to explore ways to address its password problem. By prompting viewers to prove that they live with the holder of that account by receiving a code, sent via text or email, they are hoping to weed out password freeloaders who, let’s face it, are probably costing Netflix millions of dollars each year.
The issue of password sharing, which isn’t just a Netflix problem, is almost universally down to the classic username and password approach to customer authentication. In addition to passwords being hard to remember and offering a poor user experience, they simply aren’t a secure way of verifying that a customer “is who they say they are”.
This implementation of two-factor authentication (“2FA”) is just one of the many ways to address this problem, but it has understandably left many users worried, such as families that live in separate households that share one account. However, I firmly believe that it is a step in the right direction, not just for other subscription businesses to follow suit, but good for the digital security of users as a whole.
What’s special about 2FA?
The fact that 2FA has been chosen by Netflix as the option to clamp down on password sharing isn’t really a surprise – the logical response from businesses when tightening up on security has been to layer additional “factors” on top of the password. After all, by asking people to validate their identity based on “something they have”, such as entering a one-time passcode sent to their mobile phone or email, it is possible to make the job of hackers much harder.
In the context of Netflix, the effect of this is that, if you are a long way down the ..
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