Perhaps you’ve noticed the surge of online hack attacks in recent months, targeting celebrities and every day users alike.  Whether you’re a government organization or a corporate entity, the proliferation of the networked web has opened up infinite paths to our data.  Consumer cloud providers are being forced to step up their security offerings or face mounting distrust from users.

Twitter is the latest to add two-step authentication for its service, a feature you can enable to require a verification code via mobile in order to log into Twitter’s website from an unknown device.  The update comes in the midst of Yahoo Mail’s kerfuffle, wherein millions of users have found themselves hopelessly hacked time and again, despite the fixes Yahoo rolls out.  One way to minimize the chance of your Yahoo Mail being hacked is to enable the two-step authentication option (see below for instructions).

Learn How To protect your Yahoo Mail from hackers here! 

But why is a two-step authentication process needed? And does it really offer tougher security measures?

Where is two-step authentication lacking?

Joining Kristin Feledy in this morning’s Live NewsDesk Show is SiliconANGLE Senior Managing Editor Kristen Nicole to give her Breaking Analysis regarding the effectiveness of this layer of security.

“In theory this should have helped in particular attacks we’ve seen recently on Twitter,” but as Kristen Nicole pointed out, there may soon be an issue with brands who have multiple people handling the account but only one mobile number that receives the code, the big question now is “how do you enable multiple people to login while still having this extra security step?”

For Kristen Nicole’s entire segment, check out the NewsDesk video below.

It’s enough to push you to the verge of paranoia, questioning whether your passwords are strong enough to fend off hackers, or if the service you’re using has proper security measures to keep your data and account activity safe and secure.

Get secure!

No one can blame you for worrying.  Hackers are very skillful and resourceful.  No matter how secure you think your account is, hackers can almost always find a way to get in.  Want to figure out which of the services you’re using could benefit from a security boost? Run through this interactive infographic to see how secure you already are, as well as where (and how) you can improve.  I highly recommend this quiz by SimpliSafe’s Digital Security Guide.

Click image to open interactive version (via simplisafe.com).

The result is a flurry of startups and initiatives addressing consumer needs directly.  While corporate regulations have kept security at the forefront of enterprise networks, the consumer online is experience can be a lot more daunting.  Now there’s more ways to secure your information, as an entire ecosystem is cropping up from increased consumer awareness and growing demand.

Here’s a roundup of apps, services and how-tos for securing your online accounts, from Yahoo Mail to loyalty cards.

End-user security tech

Apps

There are many apps available for download, free and premium alike, that layer additional security to your online accounts or mobile devices and even one for unlocking your car without a key.

One to note is the Passboard app, offering a new level of security for your Android device, to protect and secure not only the device itself but your apps as well.  You can mix and match a variety of verification methods such as facial and voice recognition, and even your locations can be used to secure the apps.  Or you can use a second device like your tablet to verify your identification.

Touchscreen credit card

If you’re skittish about using your credit card for fear of it being duplicated, Mastercard released a credit card called the Display Card, which features a touch-sensitive keyboard and a small display screen capable of telling you your account information such as your balance, spending limit and your dynamic passcode if needed.  It has the ability to create one-time passwords (OTPs) that would eliminate the need for a separate device to complete a transaction.

Extra-secure thumb drive

myIDkey is a next-generation thumb drives that is fingerprint activated and allows you to search files stored on the device.  It’s voice-activated and contains important information such as passwords, displayed on its built-in screen.  The great thing about this nifty little device is that after a few failed attempts, all the information on it will be erased, so no more worrying about it getting in the wrong hands.  Also, if you delete data accidentally, you can restore it with your PC or via the cloud.

How To: Set Up Two-step Authentication for Twitter + More

The services you already use also recognize the need to provide better security to existing users.  There’s Twitter’s new two-step authentication process in the hopes of blocking hackers.  Setting this up is quite simple.  Just log into your Twitter account, go to your Account Settings page, tick the box in the Account Security section, then provide an email and add a phone to your Twitter account.  Whenever you login to Twitter.com  you’ll need to enter a code, which is sent to your mobile device.

Other services also offer the option of setting up two-step authentication, including Google, Yahoo Mail and Facebook (which calls it Login Approvals).  Dropbox has two ways in which you can set up a two-step verification process.  First, you need to turn on the feature on your Security Tab and choose whether you want Dropbox to send you the codes to your mobile device when you need to login, or use a mobile authenticator app (available for iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7) to get the code.  AWS also uses a similar approach as Dropbox using Virtual Multi-Factor Authentication apps suited for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Phone devices.