What is MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)? How and why do you need it?

What is MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication)?

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a way to authentication user access. An application or computer will grant access only after successfully presenting two or more pieces of evidence (or factors) to the person who is trying to access the application or computer. The Internet has been around for decades and as much as we love using various online platforms for our convenience; we often do not think about the threat of our personal information being leaked due to cybersecurity breach.

Cybersecurity threat is not just an idea, but a reality. You can find cybersecurity breaches in the headlines of many renowned newspapers. The government websites and multimillion companies spent thousands of dollars to protect their websites against any data breach but hackers have always outdid them and breached through their specialized security into their important data. Hackers have become extremely dangerous and threatening to companies as the technology gets smarter. There is no telling that even if the highest paid security provider will be able to fully protect your data. Passwords are now not enough to protect your accounts and that is the truth of today’s world. Despite the fact that passwords have become encrypted over the years and particularly very complex, you can never know when your security has been breached if you only rely on passwords.

Why do you need MFA (Multi-factor authentication)

You need an MFA (Multi-factor authentication) to protect your account. MFA is a system of security that enables more than one way of authentication from various credentials to verify user’s identity. A user will not be able to sign in his account if he fails to provide more than 2 credentials right. A variant of MFA is also 2FA (two-factor authentication) that demands 2 credentials to sign in your account. This helps the companies to maximize their security against any threat of identity theft.

Benefits of MFA

• Provides Improved Security

The most apparent benefit of MFA is increased security for your system. The MFA technology adds multiple layers of protection to your required system or website so that the data is not accessible through a single credential.

• Compliant to Specific Organizational Needs

MFA is organizational-friendly. It complies with the requirements of the organization and protects them against any penalties.

• Increased Productivity

The age of passwords is long gone. It was quite a hectic one too! Well now, since we are fortunate to have other ways to protect our data, passwords sound old school (no denying their significance and how they saved us in their legacy). The new way of data protection gives flexibility and makes it easier for the user to access data.

Related Article: The danger of using the same password for all your online accounts

Despite of passwords being too traditional, some small companies cannot afford to have MFA services. It is one of the prominent challenges that small businesses face. It is not something particularly indifferent, but it is a matter of concern for the companies. The increased demand for cybersecurity has led to advancement in technology for such operations, which also augmented the price of the MFA services. Secondly, the question whether the MFA will be accessible on your local cloud-system should be considered prior to any purchases.