Multi-Factor Authentication Definition
Multi factor authentication requires additional levels of user verification rather than simple passwords. These additional levels of authentication can vary depending on the system, from one-time passcodes to fingerprints. The purpose of multi factor authentication is to provide additional security layers and prevent hackers from easily compromising simple passwords.
Evolution of Multi Factor Authentication
For years, companies primarily used passwords and usernames. However, with the widespread adoption of cell phones, multi factor authentication has become practical on a large scale. Users could quickly be sent SMS codes as an additional authentication factor.
At the same time, multi factor authentication has become more essential as data breaches become more prevalent. Companies and institutions need extra measures to keep their users' accounts and information secure. Fortunately, new technology offers amazing benefits for multi factor authentication.
The adoption of multi factor authentication has exploded in recent years as a wide variety of businesses and institutions understand its value. The effectiveness of multi factor authentication is evident in that most compromised accounts lacked additional authentication layers besides a username and password. Additionally, smartphones have quickly become the preferred authentication method as they are incredibly convenient for users.
Types of Multi Factor Authentication
Location Based
This type of authentication is primarily based on geographic location or IP address. Users that attempt to access the system outside of these set parameters for a location or IP address can be blocked or required to go through extra steps.
Adaptive
New technologies are making this form of authentication easier than ever. Systems can be designed to assess the risk of each login. eAny unusual activity, such as an attempted login IP address or time of day, can result in an additional authentication step for users.
Security Questions
When a user first starts with a system, they can be asked to answer some security questions. When they log in in the future, they will need to provide the same answer. This is a great way to personalize logins for specific users.
Biometrics
New technology allows companies and institutions to require biometric authentication to access their systems. This can take the form of fingerprint scans or voice identification, and it provides another useful layer of security that is difficult for hackers to emulate.
One Time Passcodes
This is a prevalent form of multi factor authentication that centers around users being sent a one-time passcode that they use for that specific login. These codes can be sent to users via email or SMS, and they are designed to expire quickly, mitigating the risk of them being used by hackers.
Security Tokens
Users can also be required to have a physical object with them to access the system. This can be an ID badge or USB drive that must be present when they log in. Tokens such as these prevent hackers' access as they need to compromise the system rather than just compromise the software physically.
Benefits of Multi Factor Authentication
Combatting Scams
Unfortunately, many users fall for scams that access their login information. Often, this takes the form of phishing, which gets users to input their username and password. But with multi factor authentication, hackers can only leverage this information with other authentication methods that are unique to each login.
Reinforcing Passwords
While passwords are very common, they are vulnerable to being compromised. Phishing is a prime example of a password issue. Hackers can also use social engineering to acquire user passwords. Additionally, users often use straightforward passwords that are easy to remember but easy to compromise. 1
Improving Your Reputation
Data breaches and fraud can be incredibly damaging to the reputation of businesses. This is especially true in the financial sector, where customers depend on financial service companies to secure their sensitive financial information. Companies that frequently have data breaches will lose the trust of their customers. That is why multi factor authentication is critical to provide customers with peace of mind and ensure they know you take security seriously.
Avoiding Costly Fines
Regulations are another essential factor in the financial services industry. If a data breach occurs in your system and regulators determine you did not adequately protect your customers' data, you can face significant fines. These incur steep monetary costs for your business and further diminish your trustworthiness in the eyes of your customers.
Multi Factor Authentication with Under.io
Here at Under, we prioritize security for our customers. To accomplish this, we provide some of the best multi factor authentication tools. Thanks to our partnership with Twilio, we make it incredibly easy to conduct SMS authentication. This is by far one of the most popular forms of authentication among users, allowing you to provide a seamless login experience for your customers.
Our additional authentication steps are excellent for eliminating fake account creation and saving your onboarding team time. Additionally, these fake accounts can easily result in costly data breaches. That is why we prioritize providing excellent multi factor authentication to ensure you and your customers have peace of mind throughout onboarding.
What Makes Under Different?
Under is an incredible resource for your business because we do not stop with just multi factor authentication. We provide our customers with a seamless end-to-end onboarding toolset. From initial customer contact to final account approval, Under allows you to do it all. Our partnership with Twilio to provide SMS-based multi factor authentication is one example of what we can do for you.
We provide various useful KYC and KYB tools that allow you to quickly and reliably verify prospective businesses. These protect you from fake accounts being opened and meet regulatory requirements. Such tools also save your onboarding team a ton of time, not having to check through records and databases manually.
Features such as digital applications make it incredibly easy for your sales team to collect and analyze customer data so you can focus your efforts only on the most qualified leads. We also offer excellent risk assessment tools that add another layer of security when onboarding new clients. Additionally, you can leverage these assessments to provide low-risk clients with a more streamlined onboarding experience. Every aspect of customer onboarding, including multi factor authentication, is easier than ever with Under.
