PayPal is beta testing a new device to help keep user accounts protected. The PayPal Security Key is a tiny electronic tool that account-holders may order from PayPal. The tool, small enough to attach to a keychain, produces a unique six-digit security code about every 30 seconds.
Users enter that code when they log in to their PayPal or eBay account with their regular user name and password. Because the numbers on the device change frequently, the code used to sign in expires, providing a higher level of security.
The PayPal Security Key uses Verisign's two-factor authentication system ( http://www.verisign.com/products-services/security-services/unified-authentication/index.html ). The two companies have a record of working together. In 2005, PayPal acquired VeriSign's payment gateway company. At the time, the companies said the acquisition was part of a strategic coalition that called for the two companies to join forces on payment services and security initiatives for ecommerce. Last year, PayPal and eBay signed support for VeriSign's Identity Protection program (VIP).
PayPal affiliates who want to use the improved security feature must order online - once the feature is available - and pay a one-time non-refundable fee of $5. The fee is waived for PayPal Business accounts, and there is no returning charge. A PayPal spokesperson could not say whether companies who allow multiple employees access to their accounts would be allowed to have multiple keys.
PayPal, its parent eBay, and other ecommerce and financial organizations are often the targets of scammers who try to trick users into presenting their user names and passwords. Phishing emails have been sent to PayPal as early as 2002, when AuctionBytes first wrote about the problem.
PayPal has not officially presented the new security system, though there is a link to a page describing the new feature on its Security portal page. PayPal has been beta testing the system with staff for the past month, and will begin testing the system with a small number of users in the U.S., Germany and Australia over the next month or so.
