What is multi-factor authentication?
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a process of verifying a user’s identity through at least two different factors of validation. The most common is a password, a code generated by an application or sent to a cell phone, biometric identification (such as a finger scan), or a physical key. MFA is used to strengthen cybersecurity and mitigate the risk of unauthorized access to accounts, data, etc., in situations where a password may have been compromised.
Why should organizations employ multi-factor authentication?
In the digital age, we continually share our personal and sensitive data online, which can potentially be exploited. Our daily activities involve using various applications, accessing websites, and making online payments, all requiring us to provide personal information. Any mishandling or breach of this digital data can lead to significant consequences for individuals and businesses, including financial losses, disruptions in business operations, and violations of personal privacy.
While passwords have traditionally served as a primary means of protecting our digital assets, they no longer offer sufficient security on their own. Cybercriminals actively employ means or tactics both directed at humans or technology to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data and conduct secondary attacks.
Multi-factor authentication provides an additional layer of security in the user authentication process. This way, even if a hacker acquires the password to log in, they won’t be able to take over the account since a second factor is needed to perform complete authentication. MFA is the most beneficial for applications containing sensitive data, such as banking, financial, or medical data. Multi-factor authentication can help secure our data from theft and provide better online security.
Key benefits of MFA :
- Increased security
MFA makes it difficult for potential hackers or unauthorized individuals to access user accounts. Even if a hacker manages to learn a password without a second identity proofing factor, no action will be performed on the hacker’s behalf – whether it’s accessing email, social networking, or banking accounts.
- Protection against phishing attacks
Multi-factor authentication increases protection against phishing because even if a user is tricked and enters their username and password on a fake site, the hacker won’t gain access to the account without a second factor to confirm their willingness to perform the task at hand.
- Easier password management with MFA
Because people use many different apps or services, they often use the same or similar passwords for other accounts. Therefore, MFA allows the use of strong and unique passwords for each account because users don’t have to remember them all.
- Regulatory compliance
Many regulations and standards, such as the GDPR, require additional safeguards, such as MFA, to protect personal data. Multi-factor authentication makes meeting these requirements easier for organizations.
- Increase customer trust
Using MFA can increase customer trust in companies or institutions, as it shows that the organization is invested in the security of customers’ data and cares about its privacy.
Who can use the MFA?
Multi-factor authentication can be used by a variety of entities, including:
- Individuals: To secure their private accounts – including banking, email, or social media accounts.
- Enterprises: For companies and corporations of all sizes, multi-factor authentication plays a significant role when using IT systems or software. This is because MFA provides additional layers of security for sensitive corporate data.
- Financial industry: Financial services companies like banks, insurance, gambling, etc., may require their customers to use MFA to prevent fraud and identity theft.
- Government institutions: To ensure the state’s data security and prevent cyber-attacks.
IT entrepreneurs: Companies specializing in IT services, such as cloud providers, may require their customers to use MFA to ensure higher security and data protection.
How can MFA prevent cyberattacks?
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a robust defense measure against cyber threats including account takeovers, data breaches, etc. To compromise an MFA-protected account, attackers require both breached credentials and access to the second-factor authentication (2FA) device. This significantly increases the difficulty of gaining unauthorized access and mitigates the initiation of secondary attacks.
The key is to make MFA adoption user-friendly. MFA options include SMS, one-time passwords, and third-party authenticators that offer a seamless experience with push notifications for login approval.
Enable secure access with Group-IB Fraud Protection
Many users are careless when it comes to strengthening their passwords, and often use weak or multiple passwords to access their digital assets. Cybercriminals often use this as a conduit to exploit user information online for financial gains, and disruptions and to conduct secondary attacks.
With Group-IB Fraud Protections’s Passwordless Authentication, your customers can access applications and IT systems without needing to enter passwords or answer security questions and instead use convenient methods like device fingerprinting, connectivity type analysis, etc. This approach often works alongside multi-factor authentication (MFA) strengthening security, simplifying user experiences, and reducing IT operational complexities.
This is often combined with Fraud Protection’s anomaly checks which monitor the user behavior from the moment the webpage or mobile application is first loaded to the moment it is closed. Continuously comparing the current behavior of the user to past behavior, it becomes easier to identify and respond to potential fraudulent activities in real-time.
Based on the analysis, Fraud Protection helps flag individual sessions or transactions that are indicative of anomalous behavior. This helps security teams intervene and investigate, further blocking certain actions that prevent fraudulent activity from being successful.
For more information on how you can enable Fraud Protection for your business, please reach out to our experts here.