Two-Factor Authentication | Complete Guide to 2FA

From data breaches to leaks, companies are finding out the hard way just how vulnerable their networks truly are. Even as major security breaches make the front page, nearly 70% of businesses still find themselves severely underprepared. With two-factor authentication, you’ll finally be able to help protect the data and privacy of both your business and customers. Here’s what you need to know.

Today, the business landscape either operates or heavily relies on the internet. While cybersecurity has come a long way in protecting digital assets and privacy, there are still bad players looking to cash in on vulnerabilities. And for the most part, major companies still find themselves largely unprepared for cyber attacks.

In a study conducted by IBM, they found that the average data breach cost around $3.86 million as of 2020. The staggering number isn’t just something for fortune 500 companies to worry about either. Small to mid-sized companies are finding themselves vulnerable as well.

As cybercrime continues to rise, passwords often serve as the first line of defense against criminals in the digital age. Unfortunately, even with companies putting more of an emphasis on password security, too often these popular security measures fall short.

The importance of password security can’t be stressed enough. Which is why we’ve put together a list of some of the best practices recommended by cybersecurity experts.

There’s no doubt that cybersecurity training and strong passwords are key elements to keeping your company and your customers protected against malicious attacks. The reality is, that even when precautions are taken, an added layer of security is still needed for protection against today’s more sophisticated attacks. That’s why so many major companies are opting to beef up their security with two-factor authentication.

Rather than just relying on a single password to gain network access, two-factor authentication requires a user to present two forms of authentication. Passwords are still commonly the first layer of authentication, but single use codes are often used for a second layer.

When compared to single factor authentication, two-factor authentication is significantly more secure. Think of a door with two locks, one a digital password, and the second a physical key. It’s not out of the realm for someone to guess or hack the digital password. But to bypass the password and duplicate the key would take a lot more effort.

With that in mind, there are some issues facing two-factor authentication. Although security risks with 2FA are significantly lower than with single factor authentication.

Two-factor, or multi-factor authentication often uses a combination of passwords and tokens. The type of token is usually broken down into two separate categories, hard tokens and soft tokens. Each provides their own unique set of benefits and drawbacks. So, if you’re curious which is best for your needs, here’s what you need to know.

Both hard tokens and soft tokens can be used as part of two-factor authentication. But as the names suggest, hard tokens are physical objects used to grant access, where soft tokens are software used to achieve the same goal. Think of keycards and usb drives for hard tokens, and authenticator applications and SMS passcodes for soft tokens.

Setting up two-factor authentication for your network security isn’t as difficult as you may think. With Telnyx, the first step you’ll need to take is to set up your Verify Profile, which is the profile you’ll be using to send and receive your two-factor authentication messages and responses.

Once you have your profile, you’ll need a few things:

• Verify Profile ID
• Phone number
• Verification type (only SMS is currently supported)

You’ll then be able to send verification codes to the device being used, and it’s that simple.