For many people, the basic activities of life now take place online. We bank and shop online, look to the digital sphere for entertainment and access to medical records, and pursue romantic interests through dating sites.
This means that apps and online accounts store vast amounts of personal and financial information, including personal digital behavior records, identity data itself, and medical information worth more than money in the bank. It means that there is Not surprisingly, these accounts are prime targets for criminals looking to compromise customer accounts and collect data, opening the door to fraud and other cyber crimes.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) was developed to protect online accounts by requiring users to present two or more verification factors to access applications, online accounts, or other services.
A well-designed MFA methodology continues to find its place in the security ecosystem of organizations, and MFA is recognized by many organizations such as HIPPA, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and others. Must comply with global regulations. ), GDPR, and EU Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2).
Organizations Need Protection Beyond MFA
But MFA controls also create a lot of friction, causing customer dissatisfaction and negatively impacting business bottom line. Additionally, MFA is no longer a silver bullet to deter fraud, as criminals routinely use a variety of cyberattacks to circumvent her MFA defenses and gain access to her data and accounts.
- phishing attack Use malicious email, text, or social media messages to trick users into revealing personal information, such as login credentials or other sensitive data. Posing as a trusted entity, the attacker asks the victim to log into her fraudulent web page and enter factors such as her one-time password. Scam websites collect data and give scammers a key to bypass MFA.
- MFA flooding It relies on human wrath to gain access. Criminals use bots to bombard victims with endless her MFA push login requests. An overwhelmed victim could accidentally press “accept” instead of “reject” or give up a push and say yes just to get the notification to stop, allowing the criminal to redeem her MFA. You can avoid it.
- malware-based attack It usually infects the victim’s device via malicious attachments. Malware such as the Blackguard Infostealer and MaliBot are designed to steal a wide range of personal data, including cookies containing authentication and MFA codes. These allow criminals to bypass her MFA and access her account without providing an authentication factor.
Complement MFA with new smart technologies for more comprehensive protection
MFA controls are valuable, but they’re no longer enough to protect your online apps and accounts. Even CISA recognizes the limitations of traditional MFA. And MFA is already causing a lot of trouble for valuable returning customers.
A new generation of advanced technologies such as adaptive bot mitigation software, ML-based account protection technology, and smart digital identity verification and authentication platforms augment traditional MFA capabilities.
Organizations should take three steps to improve MFA and provide more comprehensive protection for their apps and online accounts without increasing the burden on users:
1. Remove the bot from your network. An army of bots allows criminals to scale their attacks, bypass MFA controls, and enable fraud. Automation means that bots can be deployed at scale to accomplish assigned tasks, such as MFA flooding or phishing attacks. New bot defense technology analyzes device and behavioral signals to expose automation and reduce fraud amplification in the most common bot attack vectors, including credential stuffing, fake account creation and inventory hoarding .
2. A shift left in account protection and fraud detection. Not only does it protect payment and checkout (the last mile), but it also defends the upstream attacker continuum starting at login. Monitor infrastructure, behavior, and digital identities to determine user intent and stop malicious activity before malicious individuals attempt to log in. Account protection solutions now employ telemetry, signal collection, AI and ML modeling to monitor user accounts end-to-end for anomalies and suspicious behavior, identifying fraud patterns and risky transactions before they occur To do.
3. Recognize known good users and expedite the buyer process. Don’t keep imposing onerous MFA requirements on your valuable repeat customers. A modern authentication platform uses AI to streamline her identity verification behind the scenes, recognizing known and trusted customers and eliminating login hassles. Similar to how TSA expedites trusted travelers with TSA PreCheck, it will extend user sessions for returning visitors using known devices, welcoming returning visitors with a personalized, hassle-free experience.
Organizations must find a balance between cumbersome, one-size-fits-all MFA controls and a safe and secure customer experience. Sophisticated new technologies can augment traditional MFA controls with advanced AI and ML modeling to provide real-time protection across the user journey without increasing the burden on your best customers.
