Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is no longer a “nice to have”. With increased numbers of cyber attacks and phishing attempts, MFA is a requirement for regulatory compliance, plus more and more suppliers and insurers are demanding it.
Overcome MFA challenges to speed up your move to a zero-trust environment and protect your sensitive data. Adaptable MFA to meet a wide range of business needs.
“Authentication” is the term used for verifying who a user is when they logon. Typically, the user’s identity is verified with a username and password, but this has become problematic, with the rise in cybercrime and the use of weak passwords by users, meaning that this form of identification can no longer be relied upon.
Multi-factor authentication provides an additional level of security by requesting the user to provide at least two factors to gain access to IT systems. In addition to the first two factors (something you know and something you have) additional factors, such as biometrics or the location of the user can be added to provide an additional level of security.
Factor 1
Something you know
Password, PIN,
Security Question
Factor 2
Something you have
Hardware Token,
One-Time Authentication Code, SMS
Factor 3
Something you are
Biometrics
(Fingerprint, Retina, Voice, Face)
Factor 4
Somewhere you are
Location
(e.g. Home, Office)
As the number of cyberattacks and phishing threats are rising, it is more important than ever to
protect the sensitive information and intellectual property that your business holds.
Four key reasons your business needs MFA:
Cybercrime is now so commonplace that, in addition to the reasons for implementing MFA listed above, additional requirements are now starting to be specified as a matter of course.
You are ready to implement MFA, but it can come with a few challenges. There are key areas to consider to ensure that you deploy a solution that is suitable, cost-effective and future-proofed for your business:
User Resistance – Users may feel that the additional steps needed for authentication are inconvenient and time-consuming. Look for a solution that gives you a range of authentication methods that are less time-consuming for users and meet the needs of your business.
Technical Complexity / Integrations – does the MFA solution you are looking at cover all the business applications you are using, including legacy applications, and can be used on-premise as well as in the cloud?
Time and Cost – evaluate the time and cost involved in rolling out MFA versus the longer-term benefits, such as reduced IT admin costs for password resets, etc. As of 2023, The average cost of a data breach worldwide reached US$ 4.45 million according to the latest report from IBM.
Scalability / Flexibility to meet future requirements – Does the MFA solution meet future MFA challenges, which may accompany scenarios such as mergers and acquisitions, data privacy regulations in other countries, onboarding different locations, devices and users?
Speed of deployment / Operational disruption – How quickly can you roll out MFA without disrupting business operations and employee productivity?
An insurance company rolled out secure sign-on for remote
workers, distributors, suppliers and their partners. Their
platforms supported a large number of different systems
and they wanted an on-premise only solution, so that data
was not saved to the cloud. They implemented MFA with a
wide range of authentication options and chose SecurEnvoy
based on price, technology, performance and high quality
support from SecurEnvoy and our partners.
A large hospital in the Netherlands, with over 1000
employees, needed to ensure that patient information
remained secure by providing secure access for remote
workers. The hospital were looking for a cost-effective
solution that integrated with their existing infrastructure.
Microsoft MFA was proving too expensive and did not offer
the range of integration options required.
MSI is located in 120 countries and handles vast amounts of
data. It was important for them to secure their network and
data across EMEA and they needed an on-premise MFA
solution. SecurEnvoy MFA was easy to deploy and use and
provided a seamless user experience.
With 13 locations and 900 employees Kropman
construction required MFA to secure multiple systems
including VPN, webmail and Windows Logon. It was
important for Kropman to secure remote worker access to
both on-premise and cloud applications.
Both the SecurEnvoy MFA solution and the organisation itself are straightforward to work with; the experts at SecurEnvoy are easily approachable and eager to help.
Dennis Eijkelboom, ICT Director at Kropman.
How understanding your data will reduce your time to compliance (and avoid costly fines)
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) handles more than 300,000 calls and receives more than 30,000 complaints each year from the general publ...
Adam Bruce
Compliance / Data Discovery / Data Security Awareness