What is Two-factor Authentication — 2FA?

With most of our lives happening on mobile devices and laptops, it’s no surprise our digital accounts became a focal point for criminals. Fortunately, businesses can now easily add an extra level of protection to user accounts in the form of two-factor authentication, also referred to as 2FA.

What really is Two-factor Authentication?

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is the second layer of security used to protect an account or system. It’s a process where users must go through two layers of security before being granted access to an account or system. 2FA increases the safety of online accounts by requiring two types of information from the user, such as a password or PIN, an email account, an ATM card or fingerprint, before the user can log in. The first factor is the password; the second factor is the additional item. (Investopedia)

A relatable example of the 2FA is using an ATM to withdraw money through a debit card and a PIN code (something only the user possesses) to complete the transaction.
With the high rate of hackers, the good news is that it has become a de-facto standard for nearly every service in a blockchain world to have a non-mandatory 2FA built-in. Enabling 2FA is one of the simplest security best practices you’ll use because it protects you even in cases of web/platform-level hacks when the passwords get exposed.

How Does 2FA Work?

Two-factor Authentication is a method of confirming a user’s claimed identity by using a password they know and a second factor other than something they have. An example of a second step is the user repeating back a code/password that was sent to them through a telecom or messaging platform. Or, the second step might be a six-digit number generated by a mobile application that is common to the user and the authentication system (a security protocol used in 3G networks and also used for one-time password generation mechanism). Luckily, businesses can leverage the Verification API on Termii to verify phone numbers as well as generate tokens to authenticate transactions and confirm user identity easily by integrating their applications.

2FA works by requiring you to prove your identity by a secondary kind of authentication in addition to your password. Ordinarily, the secondary method of authentication is an SMS message sent to your telephone number or a code generated on a dedicated application or an API (as the Termii verification API stated above).

2FA comes with a disadvantage too — you could become dependent upon it and you must be extra careful to not lose your second-factor authentication device which in most cases is your smartphone. Fortunately, several 2FA applications and services provide a more secure way to back up the application itself or keep a backup code for the service itself so you’re not ultimately barred.

We hope you found this article helpful. To learn more about our Two-factor Authentication and generate your codes using the Verification API on Termii, visit https://termii.com/verify-app and https://termii.com/guideline#verification