We are thrilled to announce that a big Rublon update is coming. The Usernames update comes with a set of exciting new features and security improvements.
The Usernames update will be released on Wednesday, 09/22/2021.
The Usernames update improves authentication device enrollment.
Enrollment Before Usernames
In the past, the mobile app was dependent on the user’s email address. When you first installed the app, you had to provide your email address, and then your mobile app was bound to this address. If you wanted to use the same email address on another phone, the app on your first phone had to be deactivated. Each user was limited to just one active Rublon Authenticator at a time.
You could not enroll a mobile device using the Rublon Prompt. Once you installed the Rublon Authenticator and assigned the mobile app to your email address, new authentication methods appeared on the Rublon Prompt. A user was limited to only one phone.
Enrolling Mobile Devices Made Easy
The Rublon Authenticator mobile app has been entirely rebuilt and given a fresh new look. We improved the process of adding your account to the mobile app.
Enrollment of a new device now involves scanning a QR code, which complies with the modern standard used by other mobile authenticators, e.g., Google Authenticator.
The Usernames update allows you to have multiple different accounts on one Rublon Authenticator app. Since administrators and users are now two separate entities, an administrator who also logs in to an application protected with Rublon 2FA can have two accounts with the same email address added to their Rublon Authenticator. The first account would be a Rublon Admin Console account, and the other account would be the user account in an organization. Naturally, you can add more accounts than that, e.g., two separate Admin Console accounts from two separate organizations on the same mobile app.
In the following example, Bob is an administrator of two organizations: Demo and Demo 2. Bob is also a user in these two organizations.
With the Usernames update, a user can have several Rublon Authenticators installed on several smartphones or tablets. Thanks to this, every time you log in to an application that supports Rublon Prompt, you can choose which device will receive the Mobile Push authentication request. Nothing is stopping you from enrolling two phones. The first phone would be your primary phone, and the other phone your backup phone.
The following example portrays how you could not use two mobile devices before the Usernames update and how you can use two or more mobile devices after this update.
Last but not least, the Usernames update brings major security improvements. From now on, the Rublon Authenticator will be even more secure.
Enrolling WebAuthn/U2F Security Keys Made More Secure
The new way to enroll your WebAuthn/U2F Security Keys is even more secure than before. While the process of enrollment is similar, a user must now confirm their enrollment using a different authentication method. Thanks to this, an additional layer of security keeps a potential malicious actor from enrolling their own security key.
How New Device Enrollment Solved Our Customers’ Issues
Our success is the success of our customers. That is why we always plan new features with our customers in mind. See how the new improved way to enroll authentication devices helped solve issues of our customers.
Enroll More Than One Phone
One of the companies that uses Rublon MFA employs several employees who use two smartphones. They use their business phone when working at the office. They use their private phone when remote working. They are not allowed to take their business phones home. These users needed a way to receive Mobile Push on both their phones. It used to be impossible. The Usernames update made it possible. Now, when a user logs in to an application integrated with Rublon MFA, they can choose which phone they want to use.
Manage More Than One Organization From a Single Device
One user may want to enroll one or more phones. But what if an admin wants to supervise more than one organization? Usernames makes it possible to manage two separate organizations with a single Rublon Authenticator mobile app. Only a few of our customers have more than one organization, but this was a sought-after feature among those few.
In the following image of Rublon Authenticator accounts, there are two admin accounts added:
- demo@rublon.com
- test@rublon.com
Additionally, two user accounts are added:
- demo@rublon.com in organization Demo
- demo@rublon.com in organization Demo 2
If this is Bob’s phone, we know that Bob has access to demo@rublon.com and test@rublon.com. Bob is an admin in these two organizations and also a user in these two organizations.
Let Your Users Know
If you are an owner or administrator of an organization, refer to How to add your Admin Console account to Rublon Authenticator to learn how the new device enrollment works and what you will have to do on September 22.
Then, inform your users that they will have to enroll their mobile devices again on September 22 when Usernames will be officially released.
To make it easier for you, we created a separate guide. All you need to do is send it to your users:
You may also want to let your users know how we improved enrollment of WebAuthn/U2F Security Keys:
There Is More To Come
Usernames is a big update and a harbinger of a series of updates to several Rublon products. We are working really hard to make Rublon the best experience possible. Stay tuned for news about future updates.
Check out other Usernames update features you might have missed:
