Advertisement

Kim Dotcom mulls suing Twitter, Google for ‘copyright breach’ on 2-step authentication

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Kim Dotcom said he invented “two-factor authentication”. Photo: AFP

Internet mogul Kim Dotcom said on Thursday he was considering taking legal action against tech giants such as Twitter, Google and Facebook for infringing copyright on a security measure he invented.

Advertisement

Dotcom, who is on bail in New Zealand as US authorities seek his extradition in the world’s biggest copyright case, said he invented “two-factor authentication”, which many major sites have adopted as a security feature.

Twitter became the latest major player to introduce the measure on Wednesday following a series of cyber-attacks which saw hackers take over the accounts of high-profile targets such as media organisations and send out fake tweets.

“Twitter introduces Two-Step-Authentication. Using my invention. But they won’t even verify my Twitter account?!” Dotcom tweeted.

He added:

To back his claim, the 39-year-old posted a US patent describing the authentication process filed in 1998 by Kim Schmitz – Dotcom’s name before he legally changed it – and published in 2000.

Advertisement