Multi-Factor Authentication — A Beginner’s Guide
Password attackers are constantly on the lookout for weak passwords that they can use to gain access to customers’ accounts. To address this issue, we often conflate complexity with security.
That should not be the case. Always keep in mind that customer retention is influenced by uncertainty. Of course, you don’t want this to happen.
So, is there a way to keep our process easy while still keeping it secure? Multifactor authentication is the solution.
What is Multi-Factor Authentication
MFA or multi-factor authentication is a feature widely used by businesses to ensure that the consumers coming on their website are actually who they say they are.
It is done by providing at least two pieces of proof or evidence to state their identity. Now, these pieces of evidence must come from a different category, like say:
- Something only they would know.
- Something that only they possess.
- Something that they are.
MFA works in this way because, let’s suppose one of the factors is hacked by the attackers or invalid user, the chances of another factor also getting compromised are pretty low. That is why MFA authentication requires multiple factors, and this is how it provides a higher level of API security to consumers’ identity data.
Why MFA is So Important
Secure passwords can continue to be the most common and effective method of verifying your online identity, but trust me when I say that they provide very little protection. Through using weak passwords or using the same password for different applications, customers make it possible for an attacker to steal their credentials.
It makes no difference whether they are encrypted or not; once the database is taken, the attacker has access to any information, including geographic positions, customer preferences, transaction patterns, and so on.
As a result, it’s important to use multi-factor authentication, which requires an attacker to pass additional security checks even though they gain access to the database.
How is MFA Useful for Businesses
There are typically three primary reasons for which MFA becomes quite enhance the consumer experience in B2B SaaS and they are as follows:
- Security: The primary benefit of multi-factor authentication is that it provides security by adding protection in layers. The more layers/factors in place, the more the risk of an intruder gaining access to critical systems and data is reduced.
- Compliance: Almost every organization has some level of local, state, or federal compliance to which they must adhere. Multi-factor authentication can achieve the necessary compliance requirements specific to your organization, which will mitigate audit findings and avoid potential fines.
- Increase flexibility and productivity: Finally, removing the burden of passwords by replacing them with alternatives can increase productivity and bring a better usability experience due to the increased flexibility of factor types. There could even be an opportunity for a potential reduction in operational costs in the right environment and situation.
These are three main reasons which are most relevant to explain how and why Importance of MFA to businesses to implement.
How Does Multi-Factor Authentication Work
Multi-factor authentication, as the name suggests, for authentication requires multiple verification information. One of the most common factors that are widely used is OTP-based authentication. OTP or one-time passwords are 4–6 digit codes you will receive via SMS and work as a one-time entry token. It is generated periodically whenever an authentication request is made.
There are mainly three methods on which MFA authentication heavily relies, and those are:
- Things you know (knowledge): This method involves questions which only you can answer. For example: What is your mother’s maiden name? Or what is your child’s name? The purpose is to verify your identity via these questions because you are the only one who can answer these.
- Things you have (possession): This method involves verification from the things you have or possess, such as a mobile phone. A verification notification will be sent to your phone screen, and when you allow it from that screen only, you will be able to log-in to your account. Gmail is extensively using this feature.
- Things you are (inheritance): A fingerprint commonly verifies this factor. We also see verification being done by the retinal scan. The purpose of this method is clear — only you can have your fingerprint, not anyone else.
How to Implement Multi-Factor Authentication
Now that you have read all the benefits of using a phone login and you are planning to implement it for your business, your first question will be, “How can I implement MFA on my website.” Right ??
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.
There are multiple ways to implement multifactor authentication. Let’s get to them one by one.
- Short Message Service (SMS): This process is completed by involving a short message service known as SMS and triggered at the login stages. When a user registers on a website along with the credentials, they are prompted to provide a valid phone number on which a verification SMS can be sent. Once the phone number is set up and verified, they need to go through an additional identity check where an SMS will be sent to their verified phone whenever they log in to the website.
- Electronic mail: In this process, when a user logs into the website with their credentials, a unique one-time code will be generated and sent to the user to their registered email address. The user will pick the code from the email and enter it into the webpage or app. In this way, the user will be verified.
- Push notification: In this process, when a user logs into the website with their credentials, a push notification is sent to the user’s phone, which contains your business app. This notification generally appears on the main screen, and once the user confirms access from that screen, they will be logged in to their account automatically.
Conclusion
In this article, we talked about applying a simple approach of using Multi-factor authentication on websites and how it will enhance businesses. This feature increases the consumer’s account safety.
