Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) is a security measure that requires users to provide multiple forms of identity verification in order to gain access to their account. MFA is used commonly to keep companies’ cloud account secure and to prevent brute force hackers. MFA requires that a user validates their identity with another vector in addition to providing the correct username and password. However, as cyber attackers have grown increasingly sophisticated, multi-factor authentication is no longer enough to prevent malicious intrusions.
Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) is a security measure that requires users to provide multiple forms of identity verification in order to gain access to their account. MFA is used commonly to keep companies’ cloud account secure and to prevent brute force hackers. MFA requires that a user validates their identity with another vector in addition to providing the correct username and password. However, as cyber attackers have grown increasingly sophisticated, multi-factor authentication is no longer enough to prevent malicious intrusions.
The most important aspect to MFA is boosting authentication security.
The main benefit of MFA is that it will enhance your organization's security by requiring your users to identify themselves by more than a username and password. While important, usernames and passwords are vulnerable to brute force attacks and can be shared or stolen by third parties.
Implementing MFA in an enterprise's identity and access management (IAM) with something like a thumbprint or physical hardware key means increased confidence that your organization will stay safe from cyber criminals.
MFA is commonly based on three core authentication factor categories:
Knowledge based authentication (KBA) typically require the user to provide a secret information only they know, such as:
Something specific that the user owns as a requirement for login, such as:
Factors inherent to the user, usually in the form of biometric data. This includes:
As a key aspect to identity and access management (IAM) policy, MFA can thwart some of the most common cybersecurity threats such as:
While multi-factor authentication (MFA) was once the single best technique to reduce the possibility of a breach, breaches in cloud networks, like Microsoft Office 365, continue to occur. MFA security measures are no longer enough to deter malicious and insidious attacks. Of those attacks, account takeover breaches are the fastest growing and most prevalent, adversely impacting organizations’ reputations and incurring financial consequences.
The importance of keeping a watchful eye on the misuse of user access cannot be overstated given its prevalence in real-world attacks. In the current cybersecurity landscape, security measures like multi-factor authentication are no longer enough to deter attackers.
SaaS platforms like Office 365 are a safe haven for attacker lateral movement, making it paramount to focus on user access to accounts and services. When security teams have solid information and expectations about SaaS platforms such as Office 365, malicious behaviors and privilege abuse are much easier to quickly identify and mitigate.
Deployed in minutes without agents, Vectra CDR for Office 365 gives you visibility of your Office 365 attack surface and allows you to:
