Traditional passwords that most people in businesses use today are easy to guess, relatively weak and give external threat little to no resistance in gaining access into your business. Two-factor authentication, also known as dual factor authentication, serves as an additional layer of security for businesses; it requires an additional avenue of authentication along with the correct password when someone attempts to login in to a system.
The additional layer of authentication can be hard or soft tokens. Hard tokens requires a user to verify their identity with a physical device like a USB or Bluetooth token. In contrast, soft tokens allows users to verify their identity digitally through an app or program. These can include a text message, app-generated codes or email codes. Most two-factor authentication can be done with a soft token, but some companies like to use hard tokens for added security and privacy based on the nature of their business.
Why does your business need two-factor authentication?
Additional Security:
The first and most apparent reason is the added security that comes with two-factor authentication. Having an additional layer of security to users’ logins prevents a large percentage of both internal and external threats. If employees have their phones as an additional layer to authorize their login, other employees and external forces won’t be able to access any of their data without the employee’s knowledge. Two-factor authentication also deters cyber attacks and identity theft significantly. By having the additional layer of authentication for every employee, it is much more difficult for external threats to conduct a company-wide attack.
Reduced IT Help:
35-40% of all help desk calls and emails internally are due to password resets; these complaints take an average of 20 mins to solve per employee. Depending on the size of your organization, the volume of password-related complaints can be a significant and unnecessary cost in your company’s productivity. By utilizing two-factor authentication, employees can securely reset their passwords on their own for the foreseeable future. This will help your support and IT team focus on solving the most pressing company issues instead of resetting passwords all day.
Maintaining compliance:
Companies that work with governments or clients with sensitive data can be one of the biggest beneficiaries of two-factor authentication. By enabling two-factor authentication, companies insure they’re following security protocol, especially when they’re accessing information from remote areas. This can help secure clients’ data and protect employees from not following proper security measures when working with sensitive data. If you’d like to learn more about two-factor authentication or other custom enterprise security solutions, click here to get a free assessment!
