Multi-Factor Authentication: A Saviour From Cyber Attacks

Observing the rising cases of cyber attacks, the IT companies working to make the internet secure came up with a solution of multi-factor authentication (MFA) to prevent these cyber attacks. Multi-factor authentication can be the very cybersecurity tool that can stop cyberattacks. So, what is Multi-factor authentication?

Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication is a security tool that requires the user to enter two to three types of identification details to access the account. This involves the password you know, the name of your favourite movie or food, the name of your first school, etc.

Taking a simple example of logging into a Facebook account. Millions of people are on this most popular social media website. Over the years when hackers have hacked many accounts and their personal information, the developers in this company created a safety feature of multi-level log-in. So, when a user logs in to the account, they get a one-time password (OTP) on their registered mobile number that they have to enter in order to log in to their account.

It is referred to as two-factor authentication (2FA) that is a subset of multi-factor authentication. 2FA requires two-step authentication to access an account whereas MFA can require more than two steps.

How MFA & Cyber Attacks Are Linked?

Multi-factor authentication is a solution developed by IT personnel to prevent cyber attacks. According to the reports of Microsoft, MFA blocks around 99.9% of cyber attacks. Just one-step login with a password is not good enough to keep the account from getting hacked, this method works as a saviour.

If a hacker gains access to your account then it can be a very big threat to you and your personal information. A security breach in a companies business email system can compromise a lot of things. According to the resources, there has been an increment in the global losses by 100% between 2018 and 2019.

Since everybody does everything on their mobile phones now be it using social media, paying bills using mobile apps or sharing personal pictures etc. As we are aware that everything that we log in to has to be linked with our Gmail or Yahoo accounts. Even though their security guidelines for keeping our personal information safe, we cannot trust them fully. And even after such security measures as two-step verification or multi-factor authentication, we get to hear news of millions of account details of a big airline company or a social media company being stolen. And this is where the cyber insurance policy comes up. Now you must be wondering, what is this insurance and how can it provide an extra layer of protection?

Cyber Insurance Impact

Cyber attacks are unpredictable and they cannot be detected until they have already taken place. This insurance policy covers your companies classified information, customer data, social security numbers, credit/debit card details etc.

Organizations today consider multi-factor authentication as for their cybersecurity. Since everybody is now working remotely it becomes even more important. As the insurance market of cybersecurity becomes popular, insurers consider MFA as the best security practice. Before selling you the insurance they would ask you questions related to security measures your company takes.

Once they make sure that you use multi-factor authentication in your organization to prevent cyber attacks, they are most likely to offer you a discount on the premium rate. Insurance companies hardly provide discounts based on single security control. They refer that a company should make sure to use a good combination of control against cyber threats according to the industry, size and risks related to it.

Conclusion

With the rise in internet users, cyber-attacks have increased significantly. We live in a digital era and everything is done online now. A multi-factor authentication security system is a promising security measure but there are many hackers, who can even hack into your vault where you have stored classified information. We have heard much news regarding the same. Due to its unpredictability, nobody gets to know about the security until and after it’s done and that’s where cyber insurance comes up as it provides you cover from these cyber threats. Also, to gain some discounts on your premium rates it is necessary that your company uses a multi-factor authentication security measure.