Your passwords are out there!
We consume more online content, connect with friends and colleagues and sign up for online services than ever before. We are creatures of convenience and tend to create simple passwords or use the same password for different services. “Oh great, I can simply sign up using Facebook!”. The problem is, if your FB password is then compromised, stealing your identity just became that much easier.
Cyber crimes, such as identity and/or data theft, are on the rise. It’s a lucrative business for cyber criminals and protecting your digitally stored data is now more important than ever before. This is where MFA comes into play.
So what is MFA?
Multi-factor authentication, or MFA for short, adds another layer of security to your login credentials. For you to successfully log in, you need to provide something that you know (i.e. your password or PIN) in combination with either something that you have (i.e. your phone or token) or something that you are (i.e. you fingerprint or other bio-metric method).
When you think about it, almost everyone has used a form of MFA in his or her life. Whenever you go to an ATM or pay with your credit card in a shop, you provide something that you know, your PIN, and something that you have, your card. By implementing this principle, it becomes much harder for cyber criminals to steal your data or identity with just your password.
Only you are responsible for your passwords!
We place our trust in big corporations, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, to keep our data and passwords safe. But history shows that, even large corporations spending millions of dollars on cybersecurity, are sometimes compromised.
Once stolen, your passwords could up on the dreaded Dark Web (see our blog post) for sale. When you read the T&C’s, you will discover that these companies cannot be held responsible if your passwords are stolen through a hack or security breach. Therefore, it becomes even more important that you take charge of your security!
Most online services provide MFA solutions, which can be activated in your account settings. For business services, such as Office 365 or AWS, your managed services provider will be able to explain your options and help with implementation, in order to provide the best mix of security and usability to suit your need.