The line between these two is razor thin, but achieveable. Companies must recognize the importance of both factors, instead of sacrificing one for the other.
Recent reports from Microsoft note a dangerous lack of authentication security. Only 22% of Azure Active Directory users enabled multi-factor authentication (MFA). Because three-quarters of all users did not, those companies were at a much higher risk of an account breach.
Why do organizations avoid important security protocols, like MFA? Multi-factor authentication as much as 99.9% effective at stopping fraudulent sign-ins. Even with that success rate, so many companies aren’t adopting it.
User frustration is the biggest reason. MFA is not expensive. In fact, nearly all cloud applications enable it for free. However, if users say that it’s hurting productivity and is a pain to use, companies may avoid it rather than upsetting their employees.
But sacrificing security can hurt productivity much worse. Downtime and ransomware due to a data breach is expensive, regularly putting smaller companies out of business. The far and away main cause of data breaches is credential compromise. So, if you’re not protecting your authentication process, the risk of becoming a breach victim is high. Yes, cybercriminals are hunting for you, specifically.
35% of data breaches initiate from breached login credentials.
There are ways to have both secure and productive users. Getting there simply takes understanding and adopting some solutions that can help. These are tools that improve authentication security, but do so in a way that keeps user convenience in mind.
Solutions to Improve Security Without Sacrificing Convenience
Use Contextual Authentication Rules
Not every user needs to go through the same authentication process. If someone is working in your building, they have a certain trust factor. If, on the other hand, someone is attempting to log in from outside the country, they do not have that same trust.
Contextual authentication is used with MFA to target users that need to reach a higher bar due to individual circumstances. You may choose to limit or block system access to someone attempting to log in from a certain region. For another example, you may need to add an additional challenge question for users logging in after work hours.
Companies don’t need to inconvenience people working from normal locations during typical hours. But they can still verify those logging in under non-typical circumstances. Some of the contextual factors you can use include:
- Time of day
- Location
- The device used
- Time of the last login
- Type of resources accessed
Install a Single Sign-on (SSO) Solution
A report on U.S. employees found they use a lot of apps. Workers switch between an average of 13 apps 30 times per day. That’s a lot of inconveniences if they need to use an MFA action for each of those logins.
Single sign-on applications solve this problem. They merge the authentication process for several apps into just one login. Employees log in once and can go through MFA a single time.
Using multi-factor authentication isn’t nearly as inconvenient if you only have to do it once. Users gain access to everything at the same time. SSO solutions help organizations improve their security without all the pushback from users.
Recognize Devices
Another way to better secure network access is to recognize devices. This is typically done using an endpoint device manager. This kind of manager automates some of the security behind user authentication. Thus, it doesn’t inconvenience the person who gets frustrated.
First, register employee devices in the endpoint device manager. Once completed, you can then set up security rules, such as blocking unknown devices, automatically.
You can also enable device scanning for malware and automated updates. Both these decisions increase security without sacrificing productivity.
Use Role-based Authentication
Your shipping clerk may not have access to sensitive customer information, while your accounting team does. One can have a lower barrier to authentication.
Using role-based authentication saves time when setting up new employee accounts. Authentication and access get higher or lower controls based on the person’s role. Admins can program permissions and contextual authentication factors once. Once the parameters are set, the process automates as soon as an employee has their role set.
Consider Adding Biometrics
One of the most convenient forms of authentication is biometrics. This would be a fingerprint, retina, or facial scan. The user doesn’t need to type in anything, and the process takes just a few seconds.
Biometric hardware can be costly, depending on the size of your organization. Even so, it’s possible to introduce it over time. Perhaps using biometrics with your most sensitive roles first, then expanding would offer the most cost effective measure.
Additionally, many apps now incorporate things like facial scanning. Users can authenticate using a typical smartphone, making it much more affordable for the company.
Why Is This Published By A Business Phone Company?
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This Article has been Republished with Permission from The Technology Press.