What is a factor in Multi-Factor Authentication?

What is a factor in Multi-Factor Authentication?

Table of Contents

What is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)?

MFA is a mechanism that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to access an account or system. MFA adds an extra layer of security, making it significantly harder for attackers to gain access to your account.

What is a factor?

A factor is a piece of evidence that can confirm your identity to an external party. These can be in these forms:

  1. Knowledge
  • This is what majority of people have been using for a long time. Knowledge is something you know, like a password, or pin number, or answers to security questions that you know or memorize.
  1. Possession
  • Possession is something you have, it could be your Google Authenticator app (or other authentication app), or security token device like the ones used by banks or access cards.
  1. Inherent
  • Inherent is something you are. For example your fingerprint, iris and voice. Apple Face ID is a good example of this.
  1. Location
  • Is a location that you have to be in to prove your legitimacy.

Why is MFA Important?

With the rise of AI, the tools that make our lives easier to get things done also empower hackers to generate new ways to attack and take control of our accounts. There has been a 44% increase of cyber incidents last year compared to previous years and its becoming important for us to secure our precious digital assets.

How can I take advantage of MFA?

Simple, most major services have options to enable MFA and its highly recommended that you enable MFA, and use that additional factor every single time you login. The easiest one is to use an authenticator app like Google Authenticator, where you just need to key in a rotating 6 digit pin everytime the system asks you to login. First time setup would be easy, just follow the instructions on your major service provider to enable, then it will generate a QR code which you can scan using the Authenticator app. If you have never done this before, you can start now with your gmail account.

Enabling MFA on Gmail

  1. Go to Google Account Security.
  2. Under the “Signing in to Google” section, click “2-Step Verification.”
  3. Click “Get Started.”
  4. Choose Your MFA Method. Google offers multiple MFA options, I would recommend Google Authenticator app (you can use other authentication apps like Authy if you like)
  5. Click “Set up authenticator” and scan the QR code using your authentication app.
  6. Enter the code generated by the app and click “Verify.”
  7. Thats it! Your account is now secured with MFA
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