Why authentication is critical to your security
Authentication is defined as a security process followed to verify and confirm the identity of an individual, device, or system attempting to access a particular resource or service. It ensures that the claimed identity is valid and authorised to perform the requested actions or access specific information.
Understanding authentication
Every year, as technology progresses and more crucial assets are housed in digital areas, cybersecurity for your organisation becomes more important. Financial information, asset inventory, proprietary secrets, passwords, and client information, are just a few of the things that can be compromised if your system gets into the hands of a cyber thief.
Everyone in your business has some level of access to company networks to execute their tasks. Yet, the more individuals with access, the less secure your digital assets are.
This is where two-factor authentication (2FA) comes into play.
This way of enhancing access control protects your company’s IT environment against bad actors who may have obtained passwords or other access methods due to a breach, phishing effort, or brute force attack. Multi-factor authentication goes above and beyond to ensure that anyone attempting to access your system is authorised.
What is two-factor authentication?
According to Investopedia, two-factor authentication can be used to strengthen the security of an online account, a smartphone, or even a door. 2FA does this by requiring two types of information from the user—a password or personal identification number (PIN), a code sent to the user’s smartphone (called a message authentication code), or a fingerprint—before whatever is being secured can be accessed.
Two-factor authentication is a combination of two of the following:
- Something you know (your password)
- Something you have (such as a text with a code sent to your smartphone or other device, or a smartphone authenticator app)
- Something you are (biometrics using your fingerprint, face, or retina
Why is 2FA so important?
Let us look at a combination of factors why 2FA is critical to your security both in an organisation and personal capacity.
1. Protection against unauthorised access: Authentication ensures that only authorised individuals or systems can access sensitive information, preventing data breaches and cyber threats.
2. Prevents unauthorised transactions: In financial applications and online banking, 2FA plays a crucial role in preventing unauthorised transactions, even if an account’s primary credentials are compromised.
3. Compliance: Many regulations and laws require organisations to implement authentication to protect sensitive data and avoid penalties and legal consequences.
4. Versatility and accessibility: 2FA can be implemented in various forms, such as SMS codes, email codes, authenticator apps, or hardware tokens, making it a flexible security solution that can be adapted to the needs of different users and organisations.
5. Convenience: Different authentication methods, such as single sign-on and biometric authentication, make it easier for users to access resources, improving the overall user experience.
6. Auditing and accountability: Authentication helps track and monitor access to sensitive information, enabling organisations to identify security breaches and meet data retention and reporting requirements.
7. Enhanced security for cyber-attacks: By requiring a second form of verification, 2FA makes it significantly harder for attackers to gain unauthorised access to an individual’s accounts or sensitive information, even if they have managed to figure out or steal the user’s password.
8. Trust and reputation: Strong authentication builds trust with customers, partners, and stakeholders, demonstrating an organisation’s commitment to security and protecting its reputation in the industry.
Rito Technologies are ready to help you
We are an experienced IT partner that can help you maximise your business output with a multi-layered approach to your security. We enable our clients to optimise efficiencies with their IT Strategic Planning, which is guaranteed to increase your accessibility, productivity, and levels of communication with the right level of technology for business and potential customers.
With our free IT assessment, we can also help you identify what threats your organisation may have, and we are here to help improve this with a strategic IT roadmap to present further opportunities for growth.
For more information about our IT assessment to help improve your company’s Online Security, get in touch with us at info@rito-tech.co.za or call us on 010 213 7016 and we will gladly assist you.
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