I Have to Log in, Again?
Companies are becoming more aware of the importance of cyber security practices as they are requiring users to use multi-factor authentication methods in order to better protect user information. Login requests can be directed to applications, such as Duo Two-Factor Authentication and Google Authenticator, as ways to verify that only privileged users can access the system. Softrams is a great example of an enterprise that implements multi-factor authentication applications such as Okta and Google Authenticator, throughout its systems. Softrams has always used multi-factor authentication and continues to analyze log data for potential abuses.
Other organizations are becoming more aware of this. Just recently, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced that it added single-factor authentication, which only uses one username and password to log in, to its outline of bad cyber security practices. It is important to note that the use of only single-factor authentication for passwords is not a reliable system and everyone should engage in a multi-factor approach to better protect their data. According to the article, single-factor authentication is highly vulnerable to “brute force, phishing, social engineering, keylogging, network sniffing, malware, and credential dumping” attacks, making it inadequate for securing computer systems (Hope). Additionally, reusing passwords, and creating short, weak passwords, in general, contribute to the ineffectiveness of single sign-on authentication. In order to increase security, it is best to include another level of authentication which has been proven to “block 100% of automated attacks, 99% of bulk phishing attacks, and 66% of targeted attacks on Google accounts” (Hope). While logging in multiple times can be irritating, implementing this one little step in your daily logins, can go a long way in ensuring the security of your digital assets.
