Built-in Authentication Security Mechanisms to Reinforce Platform Security
By incorporating built-in platform authentication mechanisms, including MFA and adaptive authentication, you can build the trust of your customers by showing that you care about their safety.
Built-in authentication security mechanisms are like the DNA of a technology platform. They are integral to the success of a platform and have been present since their inception.
Every business prioritizes digital transformation, which means every industry has been putting extra effort into fostering positive customer experience. And this is visible in the speed at which customers connect with companies–via websites, apps or social media channels.
However, the biggest concern of users remains unchanged; compromised private information. But technical glitches, security vulnerabilities, and sloppy work done by third-party vendors are often blamed. When it comes to building communities and networks, user authentication is essential.
Businesses must get robust identity security mechanisms to reassure customer authentication security. They should use built-in authentication methods like biometric authentication and behavioral analytics.
Let’s understand the aspects of incorporating a built-in authentication security mechanism and why it is becoming the need of the hour for businesses to secure customer identities on their platforms.
What is Authentication Security? Why is it Important Now More Than Ever?
Authentication security is essential for user identity security. Authentication is the process of confirming your identity to prove that you are who you say you are. This process can take many forms: a password, a fingerprint scan, or something more complicated like a biometric scan of your iris pattern.
Authentication security is crucial because customers know their privacy and data security rights. If they feel mistreated, they will stop doing business with that company.
This means that companies need to make sure that their authentication systems are as secure as possible so that users don’t have any reason to worry about whether their information is safe and secure with them.
Besides this, privacy and data security regulations are a hot topic, with the EU’s general data protection regulation (GDPR) and California’s consumer privacy act (CCPA).
Awareness of these regulations and how they affect your business is essential.
But what about your customers? How do they feel about these regulations? And what do they think about the way businesses use their details?
If you want to keep your customers happy and comply with these regulations, you must understand how customers feel about your business practices.
Various Modes of Built-in Authentication Methods That Reinforce Platform Security
When it comes to securing your platform with robust built-in security, many businesses rely on old-school 2FA authentication mechanisms. And, significantly, when the global cybersecurity threat vector has increased, it loses sensitive customer data since these mechanisms don’t work efficiently.
Hence, businesses need to understand that their platform security can only be reinforced by incorporating a robust multi-factor authentication (MFA) mechanism that leaves no stone unturned in shielding users against several modern threat vectors.
Let’s understand in detail.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for Reinforcing Security Structure
Have you ever wondered how your personal information is protected on the internet?
You’re typically prompted to enter a password when you log into an account—whether it’s a bank account, social media site, or even your email. This is the first layer of security offered by that site. But as we all know, passwords can be hacked. That’s why many companies have added a second layer of security: Multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Multi-factor authentication ensures robust platform security by adding multiple layers of authentication besides the conventional id and password. MFA improves security in cases where the first line of defense, like passwords, is compromised. In fact, according to Google’s statistics, 94% of data breaches involved weak or stolen passwords.
How does multi-factor authentication work? It depends on which method you choose for your login. Generally, it involves a combination of two or more out of three factors: Something you know (your password), something you have (a security token), or something you are (your fingerprint).
In addition to providing a second layer of authentication, MFA also helps prevent man-in-the-middle attacks where hackers intercept data between two parties communicating with each other over an unsecured network.
Adaptive Authentication for the Next Level of Authentication Security
Adaptive authentication is the most advanced form of multi-factor authentication that ensures the highest level of platform security in high-risk situations.
Unlike traditional multi-factor authentication, which relies on static factors such as passwords, pins, or even fingerprints (which can be stolen or mimicked), adaptive authentication analyzes any unusual login behavior in terms of several login attempts, location of access, and more, and adds another stringent layer of authentication.
This means that if you are trying to log into your account from an unknown location or using a device you have never used before, adaptive authentication will lock down your account until another factor like mobile phone verification or email verification has authenticated it.
This extra layer of security makes it harder for hackers to access your account and protects against phishing attacks by ensuring that whoever is logging in is actually who they claim to be.
Adaptive authentication helps ensure that even if multiple layers of authentication are compromised, the account remains secure.
When you log in to your account, adaptive authentication is a system that checks several layers of security to ensure that only someone who knows your username and password can access your account. This includes your computer’s IP address, the location from which you’re connecting to the internet, and the type of browser being used (for example, Chrome or Firefox).
To Conclude
When building a platform, authentication is an integral part of the process.
You have to ensure that your users can trust and identify themselves with your platform and that they can do so securely. You also want to make sure that it’s easy for them to do so because if they have a terrible experience with the login process, they might not come back!
Security mechanisms like MFA and adaptive authentication help reinforce overall security posture and build customer trust.
The goal of any security mechanism is to keep users safe from threats. To do this, you must understand your users’ needs and how they interact with your site or app to provide a solution that works for them.
By incorporating built-in platform authentication mechanisms, including MFA and adaptive authentication, you can build the trust of your customers by showing that you care about their safety.
Originally Published at Security Boulevard
Deepak Gupta