Dear cryptoid readers,
The world around us is developing rapidly, and absolutely everything in it is changing. Who could imagine only a few decades ago that we would be able to choose and buy any product we like, or even arrange for it to be delivered to our home, online – and do that while comfortably sitting on a couch and using the Internet?
Many spheres of our life – from work to leisure time – have changed dramatically. Nowadays, many of us keep important business and personal information in various cloud services, and many companies have almost completely eliminated paperwork in their work flows. Today, we no longer need office cabinets filled with numerous paper documents; instead we only need access to the Internet and a computer or another smart device. Undoubtedly, it makes our life more convenient, but it also gives rise to a host of new possible threats.
One of the weakest points in the security of any system is the authorization process. Very often, the login and password is the only thing that protects your personal information from malicious intruders. Numerous hacking attacks are made every day all over the world; following data leaks, companies lose millions of dollars and sometimes even their reputation. There are multiple methods of learning your login and password that are already known to us and even more methods that we are yet to identify and learn about in the future.
If there exists a problem, there should also exist a solution. And the solution has been found. Well-known companies use a thoroughly tested data protection method called two-factor authentication. Currently, two-factor authentication is one of the most effective methods of protecting your account and vitally important information from unauthorized access.
Let’s find out – what are authentication factors?
Experts have identified three factors that allow establishing that a person is really who they say they are:
Something that we know – it may be a password, Mother’s maiden name, etc.
Something that we have – it may be a bank cards, a phone, or a special hardware token for generating one-time passwords
Something that is part of us – it may be a fingerprint, a retina’s print, voice peculiarities, etc.
For two-factor authentication, the first two factors are the most frequently used ones; they are usually sufficient to ensure the required level of protection. Naturally, many well-established concepts are undergoing changes, and the existing concepts related to possible authentication factors are rapidly expanding. Advanced security systems – which we will talk about in this article – are introducing such new concepts as behavioral factors.
It is no secret that most of us seldom deviate from our habits: we use a certain browser or a certain operating system; we complete the authorization process from the same country while we are at work at the same time every day, and there are many other ‘habitual’ parameters that are uniquely typical of you. If these parameters are different from what is typical for a user that attempts to access a system or some data, it is worthwhile verifying this user with particular thoroughness; and if the situation is the exact opposite, it is recommended to make the authorization system less demanding for this user.
The idea behind simultaneously using several factors is that the advantages of one factor overlap with the disadvantages of another factor, which makes a malicious intruder’s task much harder.
About the Company
Below you will find information on Protectimus Solutions, a company that introduces fresh ideas and new concepts to the process of multi-factor data protection.
Sobre Maxim Oliinyk
- Co-fundador da empresa Protectimus Solution LLP
- PhD em métodos de identificação pelo National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnical Institute”
- Formado em Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicações pela Lyon Central High School (ECL, France)
- Colunista CryptoID
