Two-Factor Authentication: What Is It and Why Do You Need It?

If you’ve spent any significant amount of time around technology, or even just poked around on the Internet, you’ve probably already been introduced to the concept of two-factor authentication (a.k.a multi-factor authentication), without realizing it. Services that you probably use every day, like Gmail, Amazon, and Facebook, have been using two-factor authentication for a while due to its ability to dramatically increase data security. But what exactly is two-factor authentication, you ask, and why is it important?

For years, a username and secure password were all that was needed to log into any account on the Internet. While this was easy for the end-user, it was also easy for criminals. Guessing a single password - or running a program to test randomly generated passwords - meant that someone trying to steal data only had one layer of security to break through to gain entry. However, as more information moved to the cloud, it became apparent that additional methods of securing data were necessary. In an effort to provide that extra layer of security, two-factor authentication was born and now lives on in a variety of formats. (Although to be fair, two-factor authentication has been alive and well in various forms outside of the Internet.)

Below, we’ll discuss three of the most common forms of two-factor authentication.

Knowledge Authentication

One of the most popular forms of two-factor authentication is requiring the user to provide an additional piece of knowledge to gain access to their account. This might be a PIN, pattern, or the answer to a security question such as “Who was your best friend in first grade?” These pieces of information (the more obscure the better) make it much more difficult for someone to break into an account even if they have the correct username and password on hand.

Pattern Authentication

A fairly recent addition to the two-factor authentication world. Over the last few years it’s become increasingly common to be required to identify a set of images in order to gain access to an account, e.g.,“click all the pictures that show a stop sign.” However, there have been pattern authentication methods in place before these. The difficult to read CAPTCHA images are one type of pattern authentication.

Physical Authentication

Finally, there’s the method of physical authentication. Getting access to a bank account is one of the most common instances - you may be able to provide a bank teller with an account number and a PIN, but unless you have the appropriate ATM card or a photo ID, you won’t be able to gain access to the funds. The card or ID is a physical layer of security. Another physical method of providing authentication is with a fob (think smart cards and proximity cards) that generates a unique code at set intervals every time a user logs into their account. Typically, the code is only valid for a certain period of time and must be entered before it expires to gain access. Without the fob, gaining entry to the account simply isn’t possible. (Similarly, some services now send a unique, time-sensitive code via text message, effectively turning your cell phone into the fob.)

To make sure your data is as secure as possible, and to see if two-factor authentication is the solution your organization needs, schedule your free IT assessment today.