Traditional passwords are no longer safe enough. Hackers have devised various techniques for collecting passwords and gaining unauthorized access to private accounts, ranging from basic relaying and spraying assaults to the more complex dangers of spear-phishing and pharming. Microsoft engineers stated in March of this year that 99.9 percent of the account breach situations they deal with could have been prevented with multi factor authentication (MFA) solution.

What Is Multifactor Authentication?

MFA is an authentication mechanism requiring the user to give two or more verification factors to access a resource such as an application, an online account, or a VPN, which decreases the possibility of a cyber-attack. MFA is essential to an effective identity and access management (IAM) policy.

Why Is MFA Important?

MFA is essential because of the following reasons:

Protect Against Weak Employee Passwords

People are lousy at setting strong passwords, despite repeated reminders of the significance of password security. In reality, according to a recent NordPass survey, """"123456,"""" """"password,"""" and """"qwerty"""" are still among the most regularly used passwords worldwide. Similarly, a Ponemon Institute survey released earlier this year discovered that 50% of IT employees repeat passwords across several business accounts. Lastly, according to Verizon's 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, 80 percent of hacking-related breaches utilized passwords in some form, either through stolen credentials or brute force assaults.

By forcing users to submit numerous credentials before accessing accounts, hackers are prohibited from entering your network using stolen passwords, devices, or other pieces of information. According to a recent Ping Identity poll, security and IT experts believe that multi factor authentication is the most effective security measure for securing on-premises and public cloud data.

Allow Your Other Security Measures To Function Properly

Although anti-virus software and powerful firewalls are good at securing corporate systems, they keep an access tunnel available for employees to connect to the network. If an attacker uses stolen credentials to obtain access, they can circumvent any other security measures, rendering them obsolete. MFA stops malicious actors from getting network access using a stolen password, allowing other security technologies to function properly. Furthermore, MFA may serve as a warning system, alerting you to unwanted access attempts. Workers only need to report instances when they are requested for secondary authentication that they did not request.

Supported By Single Sign On (SSO)

MFA may be integrated with a single sign on authentication and incorporated into apps. Thus, Multi Factor Authentication work types allows users to no longer have to generate several unique passwords or take the dangerous step of reusing the same password for different apps. Furthermore, in conjunction with SSO, MFA eliminates friction while authenticating the user's identity, saving time and increasing productivity.

How Does Multi Factor Authentication Work?

When an end-user connects to an account, they may provide their username and password as usual. They are then prompted to authenticate their identity with a few alternatives. This can involve receiving a one-time password (OTP) by SMS or an authenticator app or using an authentication software to enter biometric information such as a fingerprint or facial scan. Some corporate companies may prefer that users authenticate via a physical token, such as a key or swipe card. Many workplace MFA SSO authorization solutions also provide adaptive authentication, a sort of user authentication aimed at making it simpler for users to get access to essential systems while maintaining account security.

Multi Factor Authentication Work Types?

Authentication Using SMS Token

This check, which is usually in the form of a text message including a PIN number, is a reasonably simple precaution to adopt, especially for customers and the general public. This PIN is then used as a one-time password (OTP) in conjunction with standard username-and-password verification.

If your consumers commonly use mobile devices to access your services, it's a good idea to provide them with this or another mobile device-based authentication mechanism to assist in streamlining the consumer journey.

Authentication Through Email Token

This approach is similar to SMS tokens. However, the code is delivered by email. Generally, not everyone always has their phone with them, so it's a good idea to have this alternative. If your customer's mobile device is misplaced, it can also serve as a backup.

Authentication Using Hardware Token

As long as the key stays in the consumer's hands, using a separate hardware token is considered one of the most secure authentication techniques available. This option is relatively expensive, but it might be cost-effective to supply free dongles to your high-value customers.

Business clients are more ready to go the extra mile to utilize a hardware token, and their use is expanding. To utilize it, users just put the hardware token into their device. They may require an additional dongle if they utilize a mobile device for access.

Authentication Using A Software Token

You may get almost the same degree of security as a hardware token by utilizing an authentication software on a mobile device. In essence, the smart gadget serves as a token. This may be integrated with services such as Google Authenticator. Getting clients to utilize a third-party solution may inspire them to adopt MFA for other services outside of your company, boosting their overall security. It is also a good substitute for carrying an extra dongle to connect a hardware token to a smart device.

Biometric Authentication

As part of MFA single sign on authorization, those with a smart device or computer with biometric authentication (such as fingerprint ID or face recognition) can use this check to validate their identity. Customers find it less unpleasant to utilize biometric ID verification more frequently than typing in an OTP. Because of the decreased friction, it is an excellent choice when additional inspections are unavoidable.

What Is The Difference Between Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) And Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)?

2FA is an additional layer of security used to ensure that anyone attempting to access an online account is who they claim to be. A user first provides their username and password. Instead of immediate access, they are then required to supply further information. This might be a fingerprint or a personal identification number (PIN).

Despite the fact that both 2FA and MFA offer additional security measures beyond single login and password credentials, they each provide varying levels of assurance that the person accessing the account is real.

MFA is only as safe as the authentication techniques that are used. The layered approach improves security. However, the low intrinsic security of a few authentication methods may persist even with MFA. As an example, consider a password, one-time password (OTP), and FaceID authentication are more secure than only using a password, but both passwords and OTP methods are weak in security. A 2FA is utilized by an account that supports Recognition Signals, such as location behavior and Mobile Push, both of which are difficult to break. As a result, every MFA approach is only as effective as the tactics employed.

Furthermore, the more levels of protection added to MFA, the better it becomes. This provides an additional layer of security than a 2FA system, which involves only two levels of protection.

Summing It Up

MFA single sign on configuration is often affordable and simple to use. It offers straightforward but efficient protection to individual users as well as the larger enterprise network. It is not only the finest way to safeguard your login procedure, but it also tells your consumers that you care about and take their security seriously. All in all, multifactor authentication allows you to strike a balance between consumer experience and today's security standards.

One of the best multi factor authentication single sign-on solution available on the market is NinjaAuth by 500apps. This platform allows two-factor authentication that enables users to connect to websites and applications using their mobile devices. Thus, it increases the security of the login procedure and protects user accounts against illegal access.

There are plenty of other features offered by NinjaAuth, which are bound to make your applications more secure. Visit the 500apps website to learn more.