Multifactor Authentication | Virtually Testing Foundation
There are multiple techniques for users to authenticate themselves in software applications, such as text passwords, smart cards, and biometrics. Two or more of these techniques can be combined to increase security, which is known as multifactor authentication. Systems commonly utilize authentication as part of their access control with the objective of protecting the information stored within them. However, the decision of what authentication technique to implement in a system is often taken by the software development team in charge of it. A poor decision during this step could lead to a fatal mistake in relation to security, creating the necessity for a method that systematizes this task. Thus, this book chapter presents a theoretical decision framework that tackles this issue by providing guidelines based on the evaluated application’s characteristics and target context. These guidelines were defined through the application of an extensive action-research methodology in collaboration with experts from a multinational software development company.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a method of logon verification where at least two different factors of proof are required. MFA is also referred to as 2FA, which stands for two-factor authentication. MFA helps keep protect your data (email, financial accounts, health records, etc.) or assets by adding an extra layer of security.
What are the types of multi-factor authentication?
There are generally three recognized types of authentication factors:
- Type 1 — Something You Know — includes passwords, PINs, combinations, code words, or secret handshakes. Anything that you can remember and then type, say, do, perform, or otherwise recall when needed falls into this category.
- Type 2 — Something You Have — includes all items that are physical objects, such as keys, smart phones, smart cards, USB drives, and token devices. (A token device produces a time-based PIN or can compute a response from a challenge number issued by the server.).
- Type 3 — Something You Are — includes any part of the human body that can be offered for verification, such as fingerprints, palm scanning, facial recognition, retina scans, iris scans, and voice verification.
By combining two or three factors from these three categories, a multi-factor authentication is crafted. Multi-factor authentication is preferred, as it is much more difficult for an intruder to overcome. With just a password, an attacker only has to have a single attack skill and wage a single successful attack to impersonate the victim. With multi-factor authentication, the attack must have multiple attack skills and wage multiple successful attacks simultaneously in order to impersonate the victim. This is extremely difficult and, thus, a more resilient logon solution.
Most online services and accounts offer true multi-factor authentication, and the number is growing. One excellent example of a multi-factor authentication supporting online service is that of PayPal. They currently offer at least two different multi-factor options. One option involves a credit card-sized device that produces on-demand a one-time-use six-digit PIN. The second option sends an SMS text message to your cell phone with a six-digit PIN. In either case, the PIN is used alongside your name and password credentials to gain access to your PayPal account.
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