The Safety Benefits of Having Two Factor Authentication

About 59% of people use their birthday as their password. Over 40% of users have shared one or more of their passwords with another person. Less than 50% of all people change their password after a breach occurs.

As you can imagine, all these actions pose a massive security risk. While you can’t control what your employees and customers set their passwords to be, you can control the ease with which a hacker can get into their accounts with two-factor authentication.

Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security by forcing a user to use two forms of identification to log in to an account.

But stronger security is only one reason why you should consider implementing two-factor authentication. Continue reading to learn more.

Increased Security

The main benefit of two-factor authentication is increased security. When a hacker attempts to get into an employee’s or customer’s account, they’ll have an extra barrier to contend with.

While a cybercriminal might be able to guess an employee’s password, it will be difficult for them to obtain a code that’s sent to their personal phone number.

Customer Trust

While performing extra login steps can be annoying for some, customers will still appreciate having their information protected. You increase customer trust when you show them that you care about their data.

The moment you lose a customer’s data is the moment they stop trusting you. It’s difficult for a company to regain its reputation after a breach.

Productivity and Flexibility

Now more than ever, businesses are allowing their employees to work remotely. Being able to work from anywhere increases the quality of life for employees, and it makes them more productive. The problem is that using public Wi-Fi, isn’t secure.

However, with two-factor authentication, employees will be able to safely access your workplace tools and data no matter if they’re sitting in their favorite coffee shop, or relaxing on their couch.

Stay Compliant 

Depending on your industry, you may have strict guidelines to follow when it comes to protecting customer data. If you’re not compliant, your business can get into serious trouble.

No matter the guidelines, you can protect your customer’s data and prevent your company from breaking guidelines with two-factor authentication.

Customer Communication and Marketing

Text messages make for a pretty effective marketing tool. But not all of your customers are going to be comfortable giving out their phone numbers. This is especially true if your company has a history of losing data.

To put customers at ease, you’re going to need to be able to guarantee their security with two-factor authentication.

Reduce Password Fatigue

With all the passwords that a person has to remember, they may be tempted to use the same one for all their accounts. This poses a huge security risk because all a hacker will need is to do is guess a single password to gain access to all of a person’s accounts.

With two-factor authentication, it won’t matter if a customer uses the same password for your site that they do for their banking app because whoever logs into the account will have to validate their login with another device or authentication method like facial recognition or fingerprint identification.

Streamline the Login Process

Not only does two-factor authentication make logging in more secure, but it also makes the process easier. It allows a customer or employee to get into their account using a one-time password.

A one-time password is a random string of numbers and letters that are sent to a person via text message or email. All the user will have to do is type in the code to get into their account. The entire process is secure, and it only takes a few minutes.

Access Monitoring

Two-factor authentication comes with device access and network access monitoring features.

With these tools, you’ll be able to limit what devices have access to your business account. You can also block certain networks and locations.

Customizable

You can customize two-factor authentication to meet your business needs. For example, your technology might allow for voice recognition, but not fingerprint scanning. Two factors might be right for your company, or you may have to use three.

No matter what your needs are, you can set up two-factor authentication for all your customers, employees, vendors, and business partners.

The Many Benefits of Using Two-Factor Authentication

Many users don’t protect their passwords online. They use their birthday or use the same password for all of their accounts.

While you can’t control the password-creating skills of your employees or customers, you can control how easy it is for hackers to get into their accounts.

Set up two-factor authentication to add a layer of security, streamline the login process, reduce password fatigue, and stay compliant with security guidelines.

Two-factor authentication protects you from data breaches, but it’s not foolproof. Contact us to learn about our cyber liability insurance.