Did you know the average 6-character password, consisting of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and symbols can be hacked faster than you can type it!

Image courtesy of Hive Systems

This poses a significant financial risk to your business should, for example, your bank accounts and personal data be obtained by a hacker.

With it becoming easier for passwords to be compromised, the best way to keep your accounts and data secure is to incorporate multifactor authentication (MFA).

What is MFA?

MFA is a tool used to add an extra layer of security for your accounts and data. MFA makes sure your accounts can’t be fraudulently accessed.

To protect your business and personal data, along with your password, MFA utilises additional methods of identity verification that only YOU will have access to at the time of log-on. This essentially makes sure it’s really you signing in!

These additional methods of identification are usually one of the following:

One-time passcodes (OTP)

OTPs usually work by having a unique code sent to a trusted device or account i.e. via text or email. This code, which will only be valid for a short amount of time, will then need to be entered allowing you access to the platform/account etc you are logging in to.

The use of a third-party MFA app

There are a number of third-party MFA applications that can be downloaded on trusted devices and connected to all your business accounts. Once connected, these apps allow you to securely log in either via generating a temporary passcode, much like the OTP method mentioned above or by sending push notifications that must be accepted in order for you to log on.

The main difference between these two MFA methods is that the use of the third-party app allows for more flexibility. This is because you can download and log into said app on multiple trusted devices. This means it’s not just linked to a single phone number/devices, potentially leaving you stuck and unable to access your accounts should anything happen to it.

To summarise, MFA is essentially a fail-safe that can keep your accounts and data secure even if your password became compromised. Therefore, MFA has the potential to protect from significant financial loss and really is a must-have for all businesses, and even personal accounts too!

Further cyber security support

For help and support with your cyber security get in touch to speak to one of our security experts 

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