In this digital age, protecting your data and online resources is vital to maintaining a successful business. A key factor to managing your users, accounts, and access permissions is multi-factor authentication.
Implementing multi-factor authentication is becoming increasingly important as the threat of cyber-attacks continues to rise. The primary purpose of multi-factor authentication is to reduce the risk of unauthorised access to sensitive data and systems, making it much more difficult for malicious actors to access your sensitive data.
What is the Essential Eight?
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) developed the Essential Eight Maturity Model to help organisations to mitigate or prevent cyber security incidents. These strategies cover three key areas – prevention, limitation, and recovery – ranked by maturity (immature to mature).
The Essential Eight mitigation strategies are:
- Implementing application control
- Assessing security vulnerabilities and patching applications
- Configuring Microsoft Office macro settings
- User application hardening
- Restricting administrative privileges
- Patching operating systems
- Multi-factor authentication
- Daily backups
What is multi-factor authentication?
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is an authentication process that requires more than one form of authentication to verify the identity of a user. It is an important security measure that helps protect against cyber threats and unauthorized access to sensitive information.
MFA adds an extra layer of security to the authentication process by requiring the user to provide two or more forms of authentication, such as a username and password, a security code, biometric data, or a physical token.
Why is MFA important?
By requiring users to provide two or more different types of authentication, MFA drastically reduces the chances of malicious actors gaining access to an account or system. This is why MFA is often used in combination with other security measures, such as encryption and firewalls, to provide a comprehensive security solution.
Additionally, MFA can help businesses meet industry regulations and compliance requirements. For example, many industries require organisations to use MFA to protect sensitive data, and failure to comply with these requirements can lead to hefty fines and other penalties.
How to implement MFA
Create a policy outlining the process for identifying and authenticating your users. This should include the types of authentication factors that will be required, such as passwords, biometric data, or one-time codes sent to a user’s secondary device. You will also need to specify which systems and applications will require MFA.
Once the type of MFA has been decided, implement the necessary infrastructure to support it. This could include hardware, such as tokens or card readers, or software, such as authentication apps or plugins. The authentication system must be integrated into your existing systems, such as customer databases, to ensure a seamless user experience.
Finally, ensure that your users are aware of the new authentication process, and provide them with the necessary information and support. This could include training on how to use the system, and setting up a help desk to answer any questions. It’s also vital to regularly review your MFA policies and procedures to ensure they remain up-to-date and effective.
Deploy MFA across your business with expert assistance
MFA is an important security measure that should be implemented by businesses of all sizes and industries to protect their data and networks from unauthorised access.
The cyber security specialists at Itopia can help you implement the right MFA system and infrastructure for your business needs. Talk to them today and keep your digital assets secure.
