Last week, Google’s password manager suffered a major outage, leaving approximately 15 million Windows users unable to access their saved passwords for nearly 18 hours. The Register points out that the issue occurred between July 24 and 25 and was caused by a change in product behavior without a proper feature guard, according to Google.
As Forbes reports, the affected users were limited to those using the M127 version of the Chrome browser on Windows, which accounts for around 2% of the 25% of users who received the configuration change. Though we don’t have a precise number, this translates to a significant number of users, considering Chrome’s market share of 65.68% and the global internet user base of 5.4 billion.
Google provided a temporary solution, which required users to launch the browser with a command line flag. However, the final fix was as simple as restarting the browser. This incident highlights the risks of relying solely on browser-based password managers, which can be vulnerable to updates and changes that may cause disruptions.
As Windows Central mentions, you have to diversify your security. Using a dedicated password manager, such as LastPass or Bitwarden, can provide an additional layer of security and protection against such incidents as these managers can store passwords securely and suggest strong, unique passwords, making it easier for users to manage their online credentials.
The incident is particularly concerning given the recent CrowdStrike bug, which caused widespread disruptions to businesses and individuals. This highlights the need for tech giants to prioritize user security and ensure that their services are reliable and secure.
Google has apologized for the inconvenience caused by the service disruption, stating, “We apologize for the inconvenience this service disruption/outage may have caused.” However, the company has not provided further details on the steps being taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Image credit: Google
