# Meta enables authenticated access to its public time service

_Published Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at 12:07 PM EDT · Security, Infrastructure · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

![Meta enables authenticated access to its public time service — Primary](https://engineering.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/NTS-at-Meta-Hero.png)

Meta says its public time service now supports Network Time Security at nts.meta.com, allowing devices to verify that time packets came from Meta and were not altered in transit. The company has also open sourced its implementation through its Time library, including server and client code.

Clients establish keys over TLS before exchanging authenticated time packets. Servers recover session keys from encrypted cookies without keeping per-client state or replicating cookie keys. Authentication blocks forged responses, but it cannot detect an attacker delaying genuine packets, which can still shift a client's clock.

## Sources

- [Engineering at Meta](https://engineering.fb.com/2026/10/06/production-engineering/nts-authenticated-time-at-meta/)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/27jes2E5mDzCOeA1GBMtsR
Published: 2026-10-06T16:07:15.762Z
Story chronology: 2026-10-06T16:00:06.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-06T18:07:00.083Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)