Logging into your computer and your accounts with a username and password has been the standard in cybersecurity for decades but even the strongest passwords can be stolen, guessed, or even attained through inventive phishing and social engineering scams. Figures for 2020 are not yet available but in 2019, business email compromise (BEC) accounted for 23,775 complaints and resulted in over 1.7 billion dollars in losses according to the FBI. With the growing rate of these types of cyberattacks, more and more businesses are moving to multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect their business. Multi-factor authentication is an additional barrier of security that prevents unauthorized users from accessing your computer or accounts, even when they have acquired your log-in credentials.
How Does Multi-Factor Authentication Work?
Multi-factor authentication typically comes in two types of solutions: either a unique one-time code is sent within an SMS text message to your mobile phone or a code is generated by an authenticator app. This makes it virtually impossible for hackers to access your computer or accounts without the authentication code. There are always limitations to any cybersecurity solution, if the hacker has access to your mobile phone or has SIM swapped your phone service to another phone they could potentially still get in. Regardless, multi-factor authentication still provides an additional layer of security that may deter some of the most motivated hackers.
Multi-Factor Authentication Providers
Built-In
Many applications today, especially those that contain sensitive data like personal or banking information, private contacts or private communications offer multi-factor authentication solutions. Microsoft Office 365 has seen an increase in targeted attacks against its users because of its growing popularity and now offers a free multi-factor authentication solution that is easily set-up by your Office 365 administrator.
Third-Party
The market has grown saturated with third-party authenticator applications that protect your accounts on platforms that do not yet offer their own built-in multi-factor authentication solutions. Most are easily downloaded in both Apple or Google Play Stores on your mobile phone. Tech giants Microsoft and Google both have multi-factor authentication solutions of their own, but Duo Security and their Duo Mobile app have grown in popularity of late. They have over 20,000 clients with companies like Facebook and Toyota utilizing their service.
Businesses are focusing more on cybersecurity than ever before as the financial risk associated with these types of attacks could be irreversible. TCI Technologies can assist your business in learning which multi-factor authentication solutions works best for the needs of your business. Contact us today
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