Don’t be Afraid of Multi Factor Authentication
It should be obvious that using multi factor authentication (MFA) helps with cybersecurity because it is a combination of three or more authentication factors: Something you know, something you have, and something you are (biometrics). Unfortunately, MFA still gets a bad rep. While most organizations utilize some form of traditional MFA or 2FA, it is universally hated because it’s a nuisance and frustrating to implement and use.
Is this bias toward convenience hurting companies? You bet! An analysis of recent breaches shows that if there had been additional authentication factors, the breaches probably wouldn’t have happened. There are a multitude of poorly designed MFA programs out there, so it’s no wonder that many companies don’t like utilizing them. With most MFA programs, you need to go through every step of the authentication process every time you need to sign in. This is absolutely a hassle, but it doesn’t have to be that way. In addition, many MFA solutions require you to create one-time passwords (OTP) or tokens every time you sign-in. This is annoying and time consuming for users. Thankfully, there is another way – using your biometrics as part of an MFA solution.
Passwords are Hurting You
Passwords are ancient. They’ve been used for centuries as a way to protect people and information. In the early years of technology, they seemed like the best solution for controlling access to systems with sensitive data.
Over the years, passwords and password encryption methods have become more complex, but so have the skills of hackers. Passwords have accounted for 81 percent of data breaches in the past few years. Computers don’t know when a password has been compromised, it just grants access to whoever enters it. This lack of proof of identity is an obvious flaw in passwords today.
Not being able to prove identity with a password is one thing, but in addition, businesses can’t always monitor employees and users to make sure they are using best practices. Most people use the same or similar passwords for almost all accounts.