'We will see more of this,' tech expert says, as Twitter prepares to disable security feature for some users

On Saturday, Twitter users were alerted that the social media app will be disabling a major security feature for those who do not subscribe to Twitter Blue by March 19. But one cybersecurity expert said he thinks this initiative is part of a larger push to change how digital accounts are protected.

On Saturday, Twitter users were alerted that the social media app will be disabling a major security feature for those who do not subscribe to Twitter Blue by March 19. The platform’s new premium service comes with a price tag of US$8 per month, and allows users to pay for verification.

But one cybersecurity expert said he thinks this initiative is part of a larger push to change how digital accounts are protected.

“What they are removing is the SMS or text-based authentication,” Ritesh Kotak, a tech and cybersecurity expert, told CTV News Channel on Sunday, referring to the one-time codes users receive via text message to access accounts. “What they’re really promoting here is using authentication apps or security keys.”

Kotak said other mobile verification programs are generally more secure than SMS-based two-factor authentication.

The other component behind Twitter’s decision to abandon two-factor authentication via text, he said, “comes down to dollars and cents.

“Every time that code gets sent via text message, Twitter actually ends up getting charged,” he explained. “Elon Musk and Twitter are claiming there’s actually fraud involved in that, where Twitter has lost about $60 million. So it’s two-fold.”

But will these changes make users more vulnerable? The answer, Kotak said, is yes.