In recent years, more and more people and companies have sought out better ways to protect their data. With large companies such as Ticketfly and Facebook suffering data breaches that were devastating in 2018, no one is really safe. Many people are concerned about losing their data or sustaining financial loss as a result of data breaches that occur so often.
Cybercriminals can only be stopped by key cybersecurity steps like setting up a firewall and installing anti virus software. Hackers are using sophisticated software to steal private and corporate data. You should do all you can to protect your data. Multi-factor authentication (MFA), which is an additional security measure, can be enabled.
This post will cover everything you need about MFA.
MFA improves security of your accounts
MFA, in its simplest form, is a security system that requires more than one method of authenticating users. It usually combines several types of authentication credentials, such as something the user knows, something that they have physically, and something that they are.
The MFA adds an additional layer of security that makes it difficult for hackers to gain access to your account. Hackers who are able to access your account through more than one method will be stopped immediately. They won’t have access the security features you’ve disabled.
The Different Types Of MFA
We have listed below the various types of MFA that you can enable in order to protect your data.
Possession Factors
This refers to any physical items that a user has to authenticate their login. These items could include a key fob or smartphone, a USB drive, security tokens, and the phone’s SIM card. You might get a notification asking you if you are authenticating the login to one of your accounts on a brand new device. OTPs, or one-time passwords, also fall under this category. They are usually sent to your phone number or email address.
Knowledge Factors
Passwords, PINs and answers to secret questions are all included in this category of authentication factors. A knowledge factor is anything a user can remember and recall. This is the most basic level of security that you will encounter when trying to access your account.
Inherence factors
Simply put, any part of a user’s body that falls within this category can be used to authenticate. “Are Selfies The Next Best Security Tool?” by HP shows how companies are using facial recognition to enhance the security of their products. Numerous phone makers, including Huawei and Apple, have facial recognition systems that map your face to create a unique depth map. This can be used as a biometric trait to verify a login. Other options include voice verification, palm scans, and iris scans.
Is MFA perfect?
There are always vulnerabilities in security methods. ‘The Security downside of SMS-based Multifactor Authentication (MFA),’ written by George Mutune, he highlighted the security flaws in SMS-based MFA. SMS-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) is not the best method for MFA. From SIM swap attacks to SS7 network vulnerability, SMS-based MFA may not be ideal.
Medium article by Stuart Schechter that illustrates the dangers of enabling MFA. If you do not answer a question regarding your secondary MFA method, your account could be permanently closed. MFA can also make it easy to be careless, as you have the impression that your accounts are secure 100%. This could make it easy to fall for phishing scams and trust unknown publishers.
It’s recommended that you enable MFA on all accounts. Be aware of security holes that could compromise your data.
