Two Steps Are Better Than One, Where Security Is Concerned

You’re lucky to go a month without seeing news of some devastating data breach. With more businesses gearing up for the worst, what are you doing to protect your organization’s intellectual property and sensitive data? You can start by implementing a new type of authentication system that’s much more secure than your current security strategy--two-factor authentication.

It’s no secret that a password is no longer as secure as it used to be. Advanced technology used by hackers can crack even the most secure passwords with enough time. This is because many users tend to opt for passwords that are either easy to guess, not complex enough, or are simply quite obvious for one reason or another. We’ll walk you through some of the common scenarios that you might encounter for password security, and how two-factor authentication can solve it.

For example, many users have to change their passwords so frequently that they may be mind-boggled about how to remember each and every one of them. Proper passwords should be at least 12 characters long, including special characters, both upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. The best way to approach building a password is to include all of this information in a seemingly random string, but users will often try to use something that they will remember--information that can often be stolen during a hacking attack, or found on social media.

What if you use your first-born’s name in your password? That’s information that could easily be found in public records. The same can be said for the name of your parents, which school you went to, and even your favorite TV show via social media. Thanks to the Internet, hackers have all of the tools they need to find plenty of information about you--information that you might subconsciously be using either as a security question or for a password.

Therefore, if you are taking advantage of a complex password, it makes sense from a logical standpoint that you would only want to remember one of those, at most, at any given time. Unfortunately, this has a negative side-effect on security, because if a hacker gains access to one account through the password, they will have access to all of your accounts through the password.

Password managers make it easier to remember complex passwords, but the issue remains the same. If a hacker has access to your password, what keeps them from accessing your accounts? Two-factor authentication is the answer. Two-factor authentication essentially adds a secondary level of security to any online account or network access point. Where you once may have needed only a password, you’ll now have to use some sort of secondary credential, be it a mobile device or an email to a secondary account. It’s just one small way you can protect your organization, and it doesn’t take long to set up.

Does your organization need help setting up two-factor authentication? To learn more, reach out to us at 607.433.2200.