WHAT IS MULTI-FACTOR AUTH AND WHY EVERY BUSINESS SHOULD UTILIZE IT
There’s a big chance that you’ve heard the term ‘Multi-Factor Authentication’ a couple of times but just in other forms. Does ‘two-step verification’ sound familiar to you? If you’re using Google, more than likely you’ll say yes. Most websites nowadays require this procedure to check if you’re either a hacker or a hack bot. Let’s admit it. Sometimes, these security procedures are annoying and pinch a bit of our time. However, with the constant widespread of cyber crimes around the world, especially after the pandemic chaos, it’s a much-needed added protection.
The passwords that we were used to utilizing are under the single-factor authentication method. This means that only one credential is required from a user to access a network or website. This security measure used to be enough, until hackers revolutionized their cyber strategies. A lot of password hacking tools and methods surface constantly including key loggers, phishing attacks, and more. They can also hack an account using a dictionary system where related information about a person is mixed and matched to get a victim’s password. And, if you are using the same password for most of your accounts, you just gave them the keys to the kingdom!
Efforts in setting up encryption services, firewalls, and anti-virus applications will all lose their value if the entry point of access is compromised. A great strategy to implement is to group users by categories and use Multi-Factor Authentication for those who have access to highly sensitive information. The authentication process is an initiative that can improve your business’ data security without much-added cost. The NVIT Solutions team provides guidance to these practices.
In this article, we’ll give you everything that you should know about MFA and how it can give an added impact on your cyber safety. Let’s start having a safer working environment by knowing what exactly is the Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) method!
What is Multi-Factor Authentication?
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is a security measure that requires a user to provide two pieces of evidence of his or her identity. The common factor that we have is the password and the other one can be a security token or a biometric factor. To explain this further, there are five types of authentication factors:
SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW (Knowledge Factor) – This factor is usually a password, a PIN or an answer to a security question. These are the pieces of information that only you know; nobody else.
SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE (Security Tokens) – This factor pertains to information sent to a physical object such as devices that you carry with you. It can be sent to your mobile phone or in the form of an ID card or security keys. There are three classifications for a security token:
HMAC ONE-TIME PASSWORD (HOTP) – These are security tokens that only expire when used.
Time-Based One-Time Password (TOTP) –This token expires in a specific time frame usually in 30 seconds. When the time is up, a new token will be generated.
Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) – These are devices that allow you to access highly sensitive websites and platforms without using your mobile phones and entering any password. It records all the passwords and uses a highly generated cryptography to keep everything secured. You just need to insert the device and click the small button when logging in.
SOMETHING THAT DEFINES YOU (Biometric Factor) – this factor includes anything that is unique in you physically. Your unique features include your fingerprint, retina, voice, and face.
SOMEWHERE YOU ARE (Geo-location factor) – This token uses IP and MAC addresses to locate a login attempt. Notification in login attempts are often seen through the emails you receive when someone tries to login in your account in a different location.
SOMETHING THAT YOU DO (Action factor) – This factor is usually based on recording your activity or behavior to identify your identity. However, this factor is rarely used because of its complexity. This is also known as the Picture Password. Windows 8 allowed you to have this feature by recording your mouse strokes in a certain picture.
Among the five factors, there are only three to four factors that we commonly encounter. Google uses a geolocation factor in tracing login attempts and notifies you through email. After such activity, you’ll be reminded to strengthen your account’s security settings by setting up your multi-factor authentication.