There’s a lot of great celebrations during a year. You probably don’t think World Password Day is one of them.
And, well, you’d probably be right. It’s today, by the way: May the 4th. It even gets upstaged on its own day by Star Wars Day.
There’s no holiday. No gifts. But that doesn’t mean it’s not about something important. Because, think about it: just how many important things in your life are guarded by a password?
If you’re looking at this on a computer, you probably entered one when you logged on. On a phone, you probably entered a passcode, or touched your fingerprint.
Yep, passwords are pretty important. But on their own, they might not be all that secure. And that’s why this year, World Password Day encourages us to #LayerUp.
#LayerUp with multi-factor authentication
Layering-up isn’t just about getting nice and toasty before you enter out into the winter cold. It’s also about layering-up your electronic security with multi-factor authentication.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA, or two-factor authentication) means having two steps to access something you keep secure. It’s usually:
- something that only you know (like a password) and
- something that only you possess (like a fingerprint).
Other forms of authentication include something like a text message sent to your phone, a code in an app on your phone, or a physical key fob or USB. Even if someone figures out or hacks your password, they won’t be able to get into your account if you have multi-factor authentication.
How MFA helps defeat hackers
Let’s say your password gets compromised in a hack. We all know it happens; we hear it in the news every few months, but it happens every day. If a hacker has your username and password they can probably get into your account from anywhere.
But if you have multi-factor authentication enabled, it makes it a lot harder.
Say they enter that username and password. With MFA, they might be prompted to enter a code. That code will come to your phone – which they probably don’t have. (And if you have MFA on the phone, it makes the whole thing even more challenging for them.)
By adding just one more simple step, you add immeasurable protection to what you value.
How do I learn the wonderful secrets of MFA?
It’s pretty straightforward! Most popular sites at which you might have accounts offer it (e.g. Facebook and Gmail).
When it comes to your business applications and systems, that’s where we can help. We can talk you through and implement the options available for you, including on our services (such as CloudDrive). It’s a key part of our 4Pillars™ Security Strategy.
It’s simple to put in place, simple to use and simply offers you a whole lot more protection. So choose MFA to make the most of World Password Day.