The 5 myths of Multi-factor authentication

Too many businesses still rely on ‘one-touch’ passwords to protect user information, but with weak or stolen passwords being the cause of 81% of security breaches, you have to ask yourself, why?

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) was created specifically to secure the password layer of a strong cyber resilient framework. Our advice is that it should be implemented across all businesses, because at some point, systems will become vulnerable.

Going back to the ‘why haven’t some businesses introduced MFA’, we’ve addressed some common myths that cause hesitation.

Myth 1: MFA will disrupt user productivity across my business

Not necessarily. Although you might think the process is complex and will disrupt user productivity, there is proven research to show that businesses are becoming more familiar with added security, and that 51% say the impact of security on employee productivity is growing.

There are plenty of MFA technologies that seamlessly integrate into your business and daily activities. Look out for a solution that is easily deployable, fits well into your existing IT infrastructure and provides robust security.

Good security should never hinder user productivity in the long term.

Myth 2: It’s expensive to implement MFA

Although enabling MFA will add slightly to your security budget, there are a number of partners who offer cost-effective solutions.

While you may think this adds to your IT budgets, it’s not an expense to be spared. Think about the costs you would have to deal with in the event of a cyber breach. In comparison to this, the cost of MFA is very little.

Myth 3: Only large enterprises need MFA

Many businesses believe that because their company is smaller, there isn’t a need for MFA or there are no benefits. However, nearly 50% of all cyber-attacks target small businesses, making that extra layer of security a necessity. Attacks can be far more damaging to SMB’s than they are to large enterprises.

The point of MFA is to apply extra security measures to protective sensitive data – something which all businesses have.

Myth 4: Implementing MFA is complicated

All good solutions can be slightly tricky to implement, they need to be dependable and durable after all. As the security technology has improved, it has become easier to apply.

For those with complex infrastructures, or may struggle with some of the technicalities, there are many IT services partners that are experts in MFA projects.

Myth 5: It’s only used for privileged users

You couldn’t be more wrong! All employees within companies are assumed to have access to some sort of valuable data. Besides this, when a hacker attempts to infiltrate an account, they don’t consider whether the account is privileged or not. In fact, they will take any opportunity to access an account through phishing scams and then further move within the network to extract more valuable data.

The IT landscape is constantly ever-changing, improving your data security has never been so important. This year’s shift to remote working has made multi-factor authentication an effective tool to provide secure, end-user access across your organisation and keep cyber criminals from maliciously entering your network. Remember that in web application attacks, weak or stolen credentials are actually a hackers first choice by 95%.

Our advice would be to implement this key security measure and protect your business and its users from being a victim. To get started, get in touch today.