How to avoid getting locked out of your own account with multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the most popular authentication security solutions available to organizations today. It really comes as no surprise, as the multi-factor authentication benefits of enhanced security go beyond the basic password security measures by forcing the user to authenticate with another method that (presumably) only the legitimate user has access to.
While multi-factor authentication benefits are substantial, there is a new risk that has emerged: getting locked out of your own account. This article will detail how to avoid getting locked out of your account with multi-factor authentication and will explore the benefits of multi-factor authentication as well as the risk that not using multi-factor authentication presents.
What is multi-factor authentication?
Multi-factor authentication is an advanced authentication method that goes beyond the traditional password to offer better security for authenticating devices, applications and web-based sessions. Also known as two-factor authentication (2FA), MFA refers to five categories of authentication factors:
- Knowledge: Something that the user knows (username, password and PIN)
- Possession: Such as a safety token
- Heritage: Refers to retina verification, fingerprint or voice recognition
- Place: User’s physical position
- Time: Time-sensitive window of opportunity for authentication
Benefits of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Multi-factor authentication solutions are becoming an integral part of the organizational security profile. Below are some of the reasons why organizations are turning to MFA.
Multi-Factor Authentication provides stronger security
Central to MFA is the fact that each authentication factor compensates for the weaknesses of the other factors. For example, a less than strong password can be compensated for with a physical MFA USB key. Having the extra layer (or more) of authentication factors means stronger security over the traditional single-factor authentication process.
Multi-factor Authentication fulfills compliance needs
Compliance standards are a necessary part of many industries and many legal and regulatory standards, such as (Read more...)
*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Infosec Resources authored by Greg Belding. Read the original post at: https://resources.infosecinstitute.com/how-to-avoid-getting-locked-out-of-your-own-account-with-multi-factor-authentication/
