Going the Extra Mile
Passwords are now becoming a thing of the past. Multi-factor authentication, or MFA, is viewed as the solution to passwords. MFA is a method of identifying yourself through a variety of different sources. An example would be verification through your phone or IOT device. A recent study has reported that 80% of security breaches could have been prevented through two factor authentication. This has made multi-factor authentication a priority for many companies in their IT departments in 2019.
Trying To Move The Herd
Although a lot of companies have already made the change. Gmail, Paypal, and Drop Box have already made the switch to MFA being a standard feature for access. It was reported in January of last year that 90% of Google users did not use the MFA option available to them. It is always an option to make it mandatory for users to use the MFA method.
Mandatory Multi-factor Authentication
However, the company fears the number of users it may drive away from the added security measures. MFAs will soon be the status quo because passwords are easy to crack. Billions of files were breached last year. It is alarming considering the aforementioned stat that 90% of these could have been prevented. MFA may sound complicated. But in contrast, using a MFA is a relatively simply and common practice. Google already uses these recovery passwords for making a new account or confirming authorization on a new computer. The site will send a message to your phone with a random access code. You type in the code following your password. That’s all there is to it.
Little To Lose And Much To Gain
This is a small price to pay for drastic improvement to your cyber security. MFA has limits, just as everything else. Different methods to MFA are more effective than others. For example, 3 identifications factors are better than two. The aforementioned method of having an SMS sent to your phone can be more susceptible to an attack than other factors, like facial recognition technology, or fingerprint ID.
Improving Your MFA
More effective MFA methods are hardware factor keys. For example, security keys that plug into your USB drive have been an effective tool. The more security you have to guard your information, the better off you are. These companies are trying to give us the tools to keep your information safe. Therefore, it is unwise to not take advantage of this opportunity. MFA is the way of the future and one should seriously reconsider their resistance.
Protect Yourself
The big takeaway for cybersecurity in 2018 is that something needs to be done. Too many breaches are occurring and we are still relying on outdated password technology to protect our valuable information. It is time we take the initiative to arm ourselves against malicious actors around the world. Multi-Factor Authentication is an excellent start.
Tags: Biometrics, Cybersecurity, data breach, Facial Recognition, Fingerprint ID, IT, MFA, Multi-Factor Authentication, Password, Technology
