Google to choke off 'less secure apps'

Google is making a move towards further securing G Suite accounts by cutting off "less secure apps" or LSAs starting June 2020 and will completely switch off access in February 2021.

"LSAs are non-Google apps that can access your Google account with only a username and password. They make your account more vulnerable to hijacking attempts. Instead of LSAs, you can use apps that support OAuth-a modern and secure access method," the company said in a statement recently. 

Search engine is tightening up security to prevent phishing attacks on e-mail client users, which can then be used to gain unauthorised access to Gmail data, particularly where people have used the same password across multiple sites.

The company wants application developers to support OAuth, the authentication standard used by Google. OAuth is an authorisation mechanism that lets a third party authority grant an application access to a service on the user's behalf. 

Using OAuth means that applications request access to the API (Application Programming Interface) and after user login and consent, receive a unique token for authentication, with this the client application does not have to store the user's password.