Last updated on March 26, 2024
When you log in to an application or workstation you most often have to provide your credentials in the form of login and password. If you provide correct credentials, you are logged in. Plain and simple, but sadly, not very secure. In the preceding example, the password you provide is your sole factor of authentication and the only element that secures access to your account. Authentication that uses just one factor of authentication is called single-factor authentication. Single-factor authentication is most often password-based and thus proves to be not secure enough in our modern world when attackers have a plethora of different password-cracking tools and methods at their disposal. From rudimentary brute force attacks, through more advanced methods using rainbow tables, to phishing and malware. Add to that human error, setting a far too simple password, writing down somebody’s password on a piece of paper, and the all too common data leaks. If you only protect your data with a password, then you are as good as hacked. But no need to panic because the solution is there and all you have to do is implement it in your workforce.
Imagine, if you will, that your front door is protected with just a simple lock. You know that such a lock can be easily lockpicked or broken, so you do not feel safe, and for a good reason. A natural thing to do would be to add more measures of security. For example, consider adding a second much more advanced PIN lock that cannot be lock picked or breached. If you want to be extra safe, you can also install a security system and introduce other means of security to ensure that even if a robber breaks your old, unsafe lock, they will still be stopped and not get inside your house. You make a call or two, and after a few days you have the PIN lock and a home security system. You are much safer now, but what did you exactly do? You had one factor of authentication (the old lock) and introduced more factors of authentication (the PIN lock and the security system). Similarly to the visualization above, you can introduce more factors to the process of authentication to eliminate the risks stemming from low security of passwords.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is a way of authentication that uses two or more factors of authentication. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is nothing else but a form of Multi-Factor Authentication that uses exactly two factors of authentication, for example your login credentials and a Mobile Push request notification sent to your phone.
All in all, factors of authentication can be separated into three categories:
- Knowledge Factor – what the user knows, e.g. a password
- Possession Factor – what the user has, e.g. a phone, a security token
- Inherence Factor – who the user is, biometrics, e.g. a fingerprint
If your authentication includes at least two of the preceding, you’re undergoing Multi-Factor Authentication. If your authentication includes exactly two of the factors, you’re undergoing Two-Factor Authentication. If you introduce Rublon to your application’s login process and select the Mobile Push authentication method, you are undergoing Two-Factor Authentication. First you provide your login credentials (Knowledge Factor), and then you approve your login request on your phone (Possession Factor). You can improve the security of your logins even more by enabling fingerprint authentication in the Rublon Authenticator mobile app. If fingerprinting is enabled on Rublon Authenticator, you have to scan your fingerprint before you can approve or deny the mobile notification, which constitutes the Inherence Factor.
Mobile Push 2FA
Let’s take a closer look at how you can authenticate using Mobile Push:
- Install the Rublon Authenticator mobile app.
- Initiate login to your application, VPN, or workstation.
- Provide your login credentials.
- A Mobile Push login request will be sent to your mobile device.
- Analyze the information concerning your login attempt, including the IP address, location and date time to ensure it is you who tries to log in.
- Tap APPROVE.
- You will be logged in to your application.
From now on, you have the power to stop all fraudulent activities by tapping DENY on your phone. Even if the attacker cracked your password, they will not be able to get access to your application and data because you will stop them every time with just one tap.
Enable 2FA Today
Mobile Push is only one of several methods of authentication offered by Rublon. Users have a wide range of authentication methods to choose from.
Rublon supports the following authentication methods:
If passwords are the only way you protect your users, then getting an MFA/2FA system should be your number one priority. Now that you know your workforce is not secure enough with just passwords, and realize you have to introduce more factors of authentication to your users’ authentication, all you have to do is ask us to enable Multi-Factor Authentication for your workforce.
