10 Facts About Multi-factor authentication

Multi-factor authentication is an electronic authentication method in which a user is granted access to a website or application only after successfully presenting two or more pieces of evidence to an authentication mechanism: knowledge, possession, and inherence .

Simple Multi-factor authentication requires only one such piece of evidence, typically a password.

An example of two-factor Multi-factor authentication is the withdrawing of money from an ATM; only the correct combination of a bank card and a PIN allows the transaction to be carried out.

Multi-factor authentication is typically deployed in access control systems through the use, firstly, of a physical possession which acts as the identification credential, and secondly, a validation of one's identity such as facial biometrics or retinal scan.

Major drawback of Multi-factor authentication including something the user possesses is that the user must carry around the physical token, practically at all times.

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Two-step Multi-factor authentication involving mobile phones and smartphones provides an alternative to dedicated physical devices.

However, many multi-factor authentication approaches remain vulnerable to phishing, man-in-the-browser, and man-in-the-middle attacks.

In May 2017 O2 Telefonica, a German mobile service provider, confirmed that cybercriminals had exploited SS7 vulnerabilities to bypass SMS based two-step Multi-factor authentication to do unauthorized withdrawals from users bank accounts.

Many multi-factor authentication products require users to deploy client software to make multi-factor authentication systems work.

Research into deployments of multi-factor authentication schemes has shown that one of the elements that tend to impact the adoption of such systems is the line of business of the organization that deploys the multi-factor authentication system.