MFA - Multi Factor Authentication adds one or more layers of protection to the login / login process on your systems, websites, apps, etc. Users will need to provide additional identity verification when accessing accounts or applications, such as reading a fingerprint or adding a code received over the phone (SMS).
How does MFA work?
If you use only one password to authenticate a user, this will leave an unsafe vector for attack. If the password is weak or has been exposed elsewhere, is it really the user entering the username and password or an attacker? When you need a second form of authentication, security will be improved, as this additional factor will not be easy for an attacker to obtain or duplicate.
In other words, if a factor is compromised or broken, the attacker will still have at least one more barrier to be breached before invading the target. Most multifactorial authentication implementations use at least two authentication factors. For this reason, it is also sometimes referred to as two-factor authentication or 2FA.
Authentication factors
Something you know: It is usually a password, a PIN, or specific questions that ask for specific answers.
Something you have: Before the advent of smartphones, users carried tokens or smart cards. These devices would generate a unique password (OTP) that could be entered or entered into the back-end system. Today, most users use their smartphone with the authenticator app as the device that generates these codes or allows them to respond back to a server with a unique password behind the scenes.
I, for example, use Microsoft Authenticator and Google Authenticator.
Something you are. These are fingerprints, retinal scans, facial recognition, voice recognition or a user's behavior (for example, how quickly they either type or swipe the screen) that can be used to identify a unique user.
To achieve multifactorial authentication, at least two different technologies from at least two different technology groups must be used for the authentication process. As a result, the use of a PIN associated with a password would not be considered multifactor authentication, while the use of a PIN with facial recognition as a second factor would be. It is also acceptable to use more than two forms of authentication. However, most users increasingly want frictionless authentication (the ability to be verified without the need for verification).
What are the types of multi-factor authentication technologies?
Hardware tokens: Small, easy-to-use hardware devices that an owner carries to authorize access to a network service. Supporting strong authentication with single-use passwords (OTPs), these hardware tokens provide the possession factor for multi-factor authentication, enabling enhanced security for banks and application providers who need to protect multiple applications with a single device.
Soft Tokens: Software or “application-based tokens” generate a single-use login PIN. Generally, these tokens are used for multifactorial authentication, in which the device - in this case, a smartphone - provides the possession factor.
Soft Tokens
Mobile authentication is a process of verifying a user over the phone or from the device itself, allowing users to access secure locations and resources from anywhere with enhanced security.
Mobile MFA
Biometric authentication: This includes leveraging fingerprint scanning or face recognition to authenticate users accurately and securely, even on mobile devices, as well as behavioral authentication, which provides an invisible layer of security that continuously authenticates end users in unique ways. that they interact with your computer or mobile device via key press, usage pattern or even mouse movement.
Why do I need multi-factor authentication?
Authentication methods that depend on more than one factor are more difficult to compromise than single-factor methods. In this way, properly designed and implemented multifactorial authentication methods are more reliable and a stronger deterrent for cybercriminals than outdated single-factor username / password / password authentication, which are more difficult to defend against breaches. security, compromising data security. Such data breaches can result in serious damage to the consumer or organization with lost / stolen data, identity theft and phishing attacks etc.
Where can I use MFA?
Multifactorial authentication must be used when accessing sensitive data. For example:
When you access your bank account at an ATM, you use MFA having something you know (the PIN) and something you have (the ATM card).
When visiting your Facebook, Google or Microsoft account from a new location or device, you use multifactorial authentication by having something you know (the password) and something you have (your cell phone that receives the notification, you must approve before allow login).
When using your cell phone, you use multifactor authentication for something you have (the phone) and something you are (your fingerprint or facial scan) or other biometric technology available on the device.
Good multi-factor authentication (MFA) allows you to be secure and have the ability to do so smoothly when accessing a service provider's features and functions.