Multi Factor Authentication: Everything to Know in 4 Easy Points

Introduction

We are living in an era full of digital advancements and technological developments. New technical concepts and means are coming up across the globe every day, making our lives way easier in terms of knowledge procurement, speed, and communication. However, no matter how advanced we become as a civilization, there is always a negative side attached to it. With the growing rate of technological developments, the rate of cybercrime is also peaking with each passing day. The threat of illegal hacking has become an inseparable part of our internet experience.

No matter how secure you may believe a system to be, cybercriminals tend to break through to get access to the account by continually updating their malicious tactics. Therefore, users need to be aware of updated counter systems to ensure security.

The multi-factor authentication is basically an extra layer for the security system that makes sure no illegal external source gets access to a secured private network. Therefore, the main purpose of MFA authentication is to ensure data privacy from external attacks as precisely as possible. 

Multi-factor authentication basically asks for multiple identity credentials whenever someone tries to access an account online. Therefore, MFA multifactor authentication ensures that no malicious hacking or any such illegal activity takes place. 

Read further to know more about the advantages and disadvantages of multi-factor authentication.

In this article let us look at:

• What is Multi Factor Authentication?
• Types of MFA
• Examples of MFA
• How Secure Is MFA

1) What is Multi Factor Authentication?

Although there is no concrete multi-factor authentication definition, it is of utmost importance to understand what is MFA to know how it works in a detailed manner. There are various ways in which multi-factor authentication works in systems to ensure data privacy. Multifactor authentication can be used to handle external threats to keep them away from sensitive and confidential data.

Being an extremely important part of the identity and access process, multi-factor authentication protects your data from external illegal digital attacks.

People need to understand that passwords are no more enough to protect data privacy. Hackers always find a way to hack accounts through passwords to get access to these accounts. Mfa authentication adds an extra layer for securing data by asking for a code. Or, it demands an answer to a question previously set by the original user. Due to this, hacking becomes way more challenging than before.

Mfa multi-factor authentication, therefore, prevents forced external attacks of any means by adding extra security to the system. Passwords can be stolen and digital gadgets can be lost at any time. Mfa authentication ensures data privacy even in such tricky situations. Therefore, there are several benefits of multi-factor authentication but its sole purpose is to serve as a data protector.

2) Types of MFA

There are various types of multi-factor authentication. One of the major multi-factor authentication types is a question-answer method to ensure that the person trying to get access to a particular account is the original owner of the account. The major concepts based on which the multi-factor authentication questions are set basically revolve around possession, knowledge, heritage, place, and time.

Whenever you try logging in, you will be asked to answer a security question, and only upon entering the proper answer, you will be allowed to access the account. 

Nowadays, there are various other types of MFA authentication that take place to ensure data privacy from external attacks. When the multi-factor authentication is enabled, you may be asked to put in your current address or the version of your phone/laptop, or the kind of network you are using currently. Because of such specifications, there are various advantages of multi-factor authentication to take into account.

Adaptive authentication is another major type of multi-factor authentication that ensures the user’s identity is secured and original whenever someone tries to access a particular app from some other location. It asks several security questions even after the password gets entered and hence the risk of illegal access decreases.

3) Examples of MFA

There are various means by which MFA authentication may take place. Some key multi-factor authentication examples are OTPs or one-time passwords, voice tonality recognition, retina recognition, and more. The best multi-factor authentication method is the OTP optimization that takes place through SMS and email. Another major example of how MFA authentication takes place is by identifying and approving fingerprints of the original user along with other USB methods. Apart from these, some of the other examples are behavioral analysis, badges, soft tokens, iris scanning, and more.

Various examples of  MFA authentication methods are email token authentication, SMS token authentication, hardware token authentication, software token authentication, and biometric authentication. Therefore, it is extremely important to answer -Why is multi-factor authentication important these days?. 

4) How Secure Is MFA

Although the daily rate at which cybercrime has been increasing leaves us no choice but to wonder how dangerous and difficult it is to protect data privacy these days. No matter how secure a system is, there are always various unethical methods by which illegal external devices manage to break through the security system. It is needless to mention how protective MFA authentication is in defending data security these days. However, there are also some disadvantages of multi-factor authentication that seem to take place from time to time.

When digital devices are lost, a high risk takes place because OTP methods and question-answer methods then fail to work as effectively as before. Risk-based authentication, however, works more effectively in these cases and seldom fails to protect data privacy. It ensures that the user is trying to demand access from the same location that they used while logging in. It ensures the user is trying to access from their original location from where they logged in I the first place. The risk of hacking is reduced. Mfa authentication provides the users with boosted conversion, a better and protected security system, increasing flexibility in applications, and it also reduces operating costs. 

Therefore, to ensure MFA authentication works properly in your device, you need to make sure you are accustomed to a few facts:

1. Get educated and teach others about multi-factor authentication methods and how they work to ensure data privacy.
2. Know the multi-factor authentication requirements fully and make others aware of the same.
3. Know the methods properly before using them for your systems.
4. Make sure no one with less or zero authentication measures can enter your system.
5. Discuss the pros and cons of using multi-factor authentication with your colleagues to protect the data privacy of your organization.
6. Get accustomed to all the multi-factor authentication tools.
7. Teach others in your organization about the need for multi-factor authentication and multi-factor authentication for dummies in the professional sphere.

Conclusion

Multi factor authentication has therefore become an inevitable security system to possess for avoiding unwanted illegal external attacks. The first and foremost step that should be taken is to spread awareness of the importance of mfa so that more and more organizations end up having these security systems installed. This step will eventually help them get a better and beneficial security system. If you are interested in defensive Cyber Security then you should enroll for a Master Certificate in Cyber Security (Blue Team) offered by Jigsaw Academy. This 520-hour-long online course is India’s first program particularly focusing on defensive Cybersecurity technology.