Multi Factor Authentication Might Not Protect you as Much as you Think
When it comes to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) solutions, there are a lot of different aspects to consider. Your business’s specific needs will determine which MFA is right for you, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. That said, there are some important things to keep in mind when making your decision. This article will cover what MFA is, what it currently looks like, and the improvements that drastically need to be made around it.
What is MFA and why do businesses use it?
MFA stands for Multi-Factor Authentication and is a cybersecurity solution that ideally provides an extra layer of security for online accounts. MFA requires you to provide more than one form of authentication to access your accounts, such as a password and a code sent to your phone. This is intended to make it more difficult for hackers to gain access to your accounts, therefore, protecting your data from theft or fraud.
MFA is a tool for businesses, as it can help protect their data and keep their networks secure. MFA can be used to protect any type of online account, including email accounts, bank accounts, and social media accounts. It is also supposed to be a way to prevent brute force attacks, which are when hackers try to guess your password by using automated tools.
Businesses use MFA because it is relatively easy to set up and can be used on any device. It is also very affordable, and many providers offer free or low-cost plans making it an easily accessible tool for businesses of all sizes.
The problems with MFA
In the real world, most of today's most popular uses haven't shown to be sufficiently secure against authentic assaults. In a nutshell, hackers have been able to penetrate most MFA by constantly adapting social engineering methods.
Many push-based authentication requests connect to a phone number and follow the owner of the phone number. A SIM Swap is one way to steal phone numbers but there are several ways to take anyone's phone number and relocate it to another phone, whether for a short time or permanently. When attackers target people with a phone number-attached MFA, they will change the victim's phone number in order to obtain their login credentials.
Push-based MFA is particularly vulnerable to simple phishing assaults. The most prevalent technique is for a purported victim to get a fraudulent email from a service or website that requires their MFA solution to log in. The user is deceived into clicking on a phony URL, which unwittingly takes them to an untrustworthy man-in-the-middle (MitM) website that captures and transmits all inputs from the user to the genuine site, and vice versa. Everything the user types in, including MFA codes and permissions, is recorded by the malevolent website and reversed by the real website.
The most popular MFA solutions enable users to reset or bypass the system. This is necessary since users frequently lose access to or even break their MFA solution, and thus, they need another method of logging in when the normal MFA approach fails. Most vendors have automated this because having a person verify the reset is too pricey. Unfortunately, many of these automatic recovery procedures are linked to very basic 1FA methods such as alternative email addresses and personal knowledge-based questions and answers. Many of these alternate authentication solutions are not only less secure than the MFA solution they are trying to overcome, but also less secure than using a password.
There are many sellers that claim that MFA is the solution to nearly all hacking. It is being oversold on what it can promise, and often people have been attacked because of their use of MFA. This can be very dangerous to use misleading data and/or overhype what MFA is capable of since it can have legitimate consequences.
Ways in Which MFA can be Improved
Use or Create MFA With Strong, Transparent Standards
The use of strong, well-established cryptography for most MFA is essential. Many MFA providers don't disclose the encryption they're using or claim to have new, stronger crypto that they can't share. Make sure your MFA solution uses NIST-approved ciphers. These protocols have been thoroughly tested and reviewed. Any MFA solution that utilizes them will be more trusted than one that doesn't, regardless of any other factors.
Better Training Around MFA
It's possible to break any MFA solution. No matter what type of MFA solution you use, be sure all parties are aware of the strengths, vulnerabilities, and prevalent attacks against your system. Share the most common methods that hackers use to breach and bypass different types of MFA solutions. Vendors may assist by making their threat modeling documentation public. It's important to explain how to avoid exploitation when using MFA. Training in any type of cybersecurity and especially with things that might be a little more complicated can be incredibly useful to a team.
Use Physical Logins
Even though end users may be inclined to ignore it, physical login locations in all MFA solutions should be provided. Training is once again crucial in order to implement this type of change. Likewise, everyone involved in using an MFA should avoid VPNs that have an impact on the user's real-world logon location.
Register the Device
MitM attacks are hard to execute, but not impossible. If you use a solution that locks logins to specific, preregistered devices (such as the user's laptop), it's a good deterrent. FIDO2 solutions require this. Many other MFA solutions also work with numerous MFA vendors and offer device registration.
How to choose the right MFA for your business
When it comes to choosing the right MFA for your business, there are a few key things to keep in mind. The first is that not all MFA solutions are created equal – some are better suited for small businesses, while others are more geared towards larger enterprises. It's important to select an MFA that will provide the appropriate level of security for your organization.
Another important consideration is how the MFA will integrate into your existing infrastructure. Some MFA solutions require extensive changes to your IT setup, while others can be implemented with little or no disruption. It's also important to make sure the MFA solution you choose is compatible with the devices and applications your employees use every day.
Third, you'll need to consider your budget and how much you're willing to spend on MFA. Not all MFA solutions are expensive, but some can be quite costly, especially if you need to purchase additional hardware or software.
Finally, you'll need to decide which features are most important to you. Some MFA solutions offer a wider range of features than others. You'll need to decide which features are essential for your business and which ones you can live without.
Once you've considered these factors, you'll be in a much better position to choose the right MFA solution for your business. Don't forget to test out the MFA solution you're considering before making a final decision – this will help ensure that it meets your needs and provides the level of security you require.
MFA can and should be a vital part of your cybersecurity solutions, but it is important to know that they also need to adapt and improve dramatically in order to be successful. By understanding the improvements needed for MFA and how you can use that information to pick the right MFA solution for your needs, you can ensure that your data will be safe from cyber threats.
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