Millions of email addresses and associated passwords are compromised every day on the web. Data breaches are making it increasingly less secure to rely only on using passwords, so what measures can you take to improve your online security and protect your identity?
TWO-FACTOR authentication (2FA or MFA) requires a user to provide two different types of information to gain access to an online account or computer system. A factor in this context is a way to prove that “you are who you say you are”, so the system knows you are legitimate and authorised to access the service. By far the most common authentication factor in use today is a username and password. This is known as a single factor. It is one factor of identification, a password. With 2FA, you need to provide a password and prove your identity in some other way to gain access. As passwords have become increasingly less secure, it is increasingly important to enable 2FA on any accounts to add that extra layer of security.
Millions of email addresses and associated passwords are available on the dark web because of major data breaches which make only using passwords increasingly less secure. Also, as most people use the same password across multiple sites and accounts, a hacker can gain access to users’ other accounts by using robots to trawl the internet with known email addresses/passwords and thus gaining access to users’ data easily and most times the users will not be aware malicious actors have gained access. Something also to be mindful of is that many sites use security questions or knowledge-based authentication—"What's your pets’ name?" or "What city were you born?"—as a backup to passwords. Unfortunately, so much personal information is publicly available now through social media and data breaches that a determined hacker can find these answers and compromise an account. More importantly, those questions aren't a true second factor and therefore don't provide the layered security of 2FA.
Think of a factor in abstract terms: It’s something you know or have. That’s why using security questions isn’t the same as having real 2FA; you're just backing up something you know with something else you know. True 2FA pairs the first authentication factor, something you know—usually a password—with one of the other two factors, which are entirely different: Something you have might be a code texted to your mobile, or an app on your phone that displays a temporary code, for example, a fingerprint.
Figuring out how to enable two-factor authentication for all your accounts can be daunting. Apple, Microsoft, Google, all the major social media sites, Amazon, popular services like Slack and Dropbox all offer 2FA. A quick web search should lead you to instructions on how to enable 2FA on your accounts. And you can always ask our friendly team at Adventist Technology Service Desk for advice. Taking the extra step for security now can save you a lot of headaches in the future. Adventist Technology now has a dedicated team focusing on keeping our organisations safe digitally. Working hard behind the scenes to develop a comprehensive set of policies that can be used by any Adventist entity. If you are interested let us know we are happy to share them with you. We also review all our information-based assets and working to develop good governance to help manage these securely. Over the coming months, we will share insights and guidelines to help you navigate the challenges of cyber security. One of the most important things you can do today is to enable multi-factor authentication on your accounts. As pointed out in this article 2FA is one small step that has a significant improvement in securing our accounts and is now considered best practice.
