Multi-Factor Authentication
To help prevent phishing scams you want to set up multi-factor authentication on your devices. Due to cyberattacks on the rise it is recommended to use identity security and multi-factor authentication. Phishing scams steal credential information and they are the most common way for hackers to gain access to healthcare data. Using multi-factor authentication can prevent the ability to use stolen credentials.
HOW DOES MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION WORK?
Authentication is typically made up of two things; a username and a password. Multi-factor authentication adds two or more pieces of verifiable evidence or factors to the authentication process. The process is used to greatly reduce security concerns by lowering the chances of an account being accessed by the wrong person. Two-factor authentication is a subset of multi-factor and is a means of authenticating with just two pieces of verifiable evidence or factors.
There are generally four factors of authentication that we should use today:
- Something you have; a number generator like google authenticator
- Something you know; a password or passphrase
- Something you are; biometrics like fingerprint or facial geometry
- Where you are; GPS location tracked by your phone or IP address location
HARDWARE TOKEN
Hardware tokens are something you have. They can come in many forms. Back in the day the IT people in a company would carry little fobs on their keychains that had a small display with numbers changing
every thirty seconds. That was known as a time-based one time password (TOTP). This is still an option today but most executions of TOTP are implemented using a mobile app or SMS message.
Another popular hardware token is a Yubikey. A Yubikey is a hardware token that is generally plugged into a computer via USB. Some Yubikeys support near field communication which supports devices without USB ports.
BIOMETRICS
Biometrics have become mainstream with fingerprint readers and facial recognition technology that is embedded in mobile devices and laptops. With those implementations biometrics is used as an alternative to the username and password rather than as another factor.
GPS
GPS location is another factor that isn’t used much for multi-factor authentication, but it is frequently tracked to find if accounts have been breached.
About the Author
Experience Audio Video has been serving Orange County and Area since 1999 for residential and commercial audio, video and security camera installation services. 5 Star Yelp Ratings, Thousands of Referrals, there is not a better choice than Brian Chappell and the Experience Audio Video Team (License #804783). One phone call and you will know right away the difference in working with Experience Audio Video vs. others in the area. Contact us now at 714-744-4455 or info@eav-inc.com for a Free Consultation.
