2FA creates a daily barrier against hackers, so why isn’t your company implementing it?
We mention Two-Factor Authentication a lot here at Restech, and you might be wondering why. But the answer is simple, implementing a Two-Factor Authentication is important in protecting your company’s data. Cybercriminals have many ways of stealing login credentials from your company’s employees, so adding an extra layer of protection is an absolute must.
To refresh your memory, Two-Factor Authentication, or 2FA, is a type of multi-factor authentication that increases account security by using two verification methods. The first factor of the verification method is a strong password; which to the less tech-savvy may seem sufficient. But in a world filled with advancing technology and eager hackers – a complex password just isn’t enough.
That’s when the second factor comes into play, by being either something you have or something you are.
Something you have refers to a physical object. This could be a phone, an app, a card, etc. For example, having a code sent to your phone when logging into an account.
Something you are refers to biometric information – facial recognition, fingerprint, eyes, etc. For example, you may use facial recognition when downloading an app.
Now that we’ve jogged your memory on how 2FA works, let’s talk about risks. If your company is not using 2FA daily, then your company and your employees are at risk daily. You may be wondering how exactly hackers get passwords and well, there are many different tactics. A hacker might buy leaked passwords on the Dark Web from a past data breach. Yep, you read that right. If a company or business you subscribe to was recently breached, it’s very likely that your personal information such as your email address and password is just floating around on the Dark Web, waiting to be sold to another hacker. Selling passwords on the Dark Web to other cybercriminals is just one of the many reasons hackers attack in the first place.
A recent study by TechRadar reported that 60% of people reuse passwords for multiple accounts. Hackers know this fact and know that they can even play a guessing game when it
comes to cracking someone’s login credentials; that’s called a brute-force attack. Once a hacker is in, they can go completely undetected and steal private company information, or even hold data for ransom. This would interrupt all company operations and be very costly.
Many cybercriminals prefer to attack through phishing, a form of social engineering in which the hacker pretends to be a trustworthy organization like the IRS, your banks, or even your favorite online stores. In this tactic, they will trick you into clicking a harmful link that then triggers a malware download. At this point, they can steal all of your passwords; talk about a jumpscare. Those are only a few of the many ways a hacker can steal a password, that’s why passwords
should not be the only barrier between your company and a malicious hacker. Sure, adding another verification factor may add time to a process, but if passwords are compromised then you’re looking at a much more time-consuming and expensive issue.
So why are people not using 2FA to authenticate themselves? The bottom line is that they don’t want the hassle. Many people even leave their computers in sleep mode to where they can just wake them up, and start working again. They don’t want to have to log in or log out, in an effort to save time. This cannot be an excuse any longer. The risk is simply too great.
Contact us to learn more about implementing 2FA in your business processes. It’s our goal to help your business continue being successful, and one of the ways we can do that is by making sure your business has the best security measures in place.
