Are you aware that last year, data breaches jumped 29% in the first six months? The record high was 791 breaches, of which almost 12 million records got exposed. This private information included anything from credit card and bank information to Social Security numbers.
These cyber-attacks happened in various companies worldwide. No industry proved to be safe from vicious hackers. Business, finance, education, healthcare — none got spared.
CyberScout chairman Adam Levin claims that many companies have not confronted this idea. Many have made security an issue low on their priority list. When in fact, a lack of it could be devastating.
Multi-factor identity authentication is an easy and effective way to address this problem. Not to mention inexpensive! And the problem is time-sensitive, so give it the respect it deserves.
Here’s why your business needs MFA.
1. Hacking Is Getting Easier
Hacking is not a sophisticated crime!
With that said, it’s still a profitable one. This attracts the likes of your average criminal.
Many hackers are young adults looking for a quick and easy buck. Sending out spam and ransomware is easy to do and can be hard to detect by users. With one wrong click, you could be contributing to a $1,077 paycheck for that hacker.
2. MFA Is Flexible
Multi-factor authentication — also known as two-factor authentication or 2FA — comes in many forms. From apps to key fobs to texts, the options vary to fit the style of your company.
MFA comes after your typical username and password log-in. This information must get entered first to access the MFA step. After this, you’ll have to verify your identity through a second step.
Some of the most common methods are SMS (text) and email. The odds are good that your employees have already done this for their social media or bank accounts.
In addition to username and passcode, users will receive a one-time password (OTP) in a text or email. They’ll then enter this code to verify their identity. A hacker won’t have access to this info unless they have physical access to their phone or computer.
Other forms of MFA are key fobs — tangible devices with stored access codes — and phone apps. These are as effective but are susceptible to their own issues, such as an employee losing their fob.
Physical forms of MFA include fingerprint or retina scanning. The type of MFA you choose is on a business-to-business basis.
3. It Enables Safer Remote Work
As of 2016, 31% of Americans were working remotely 80-100% of the time. This is an awesome way to increase productivity. But it may scare companies without MFA as there’s a greater opportunity for error.
With MFA, employees can work from anywhere as long as they have a way to verify their identity. Your log-in device will become recognizable. Any unrecognized device will surely get an alert.
Multi-Factor Identity Authentication: Is It Worth It?
Absolutely.
No company is safe from hackers — not even the larger ones like Facebook, Equifax and Marriott data breach. Antivirus and malware software still leave loopholes in your data security. These are begging to get forged through by thieves.
There’s no good argument against having multi-factor identity authentication. It’s getting your business one step closer to safety and security. With Acceptto’s Cognitive Continuous MFA you add an extra layer of identity access protection before, during and after authentication.
Stay smart. A password is no longer enough! Learn more about our Continuous Biobehavioral MFA.
Read our next MFA article: “Evaluating Multi-factor Authentication Solutions Today“
