Let’s be honest. Today, many companies, both big and small, are experiencing the effects of cyber attacks. It’s not only the large corporation that is experiencing cases of being targeted anymore. Global cyberattacks have increased by manyfolds. Hackers are faster. They’re smarter. And they’re more dangerous than ever.
This is particularly dangerous if you are only using passwords as your main security measure for your business. The statistics have it that hackers are capable of breaking into most passwords within a few hours. Reused passwords? Even worse. This is because once one account is breached, the hacker will have all the required means or tools to breach every other account.
What’s MFA
MFA stands for Multi Factor Authentication. It is just like you would secure your home by having two or three locks on your door for security. This way even if a person gets your password, he will not be able to access your account without the second or third form of identification.
Currently MFA employs items such as fingerprints, face recognition, or a pin code of your mobile phone. It makes hacking way harder. While a hacker can crack your password he will never get your fingerprint.
You Need to Act Now
The risks are higher than before. Cyber threats such as data breaches and ransom attacks are on the rise currently. Such techniques as SMS-based OTPs, though previously applied to provide adequate security, are now insufficient. Cybercriminals are evolving.
Thus, if your business entails the handling of certain financial operations especially, including accepting crypto payments, then it is imperative that these systems are protected with such incredible phishing resistant MFA solutions. Cryptocurrencies are beneficial in terms of delivering the potential of decentralized financial systems, but they also have risks associated. MFA guarantees that your possessions and transactions are safeguarded, thus offering satisfaction to both you and the customers.
What’s Wrong with Passwords Anyway?
Passwords aren’t enough. It makes it even easier for hackers to have their way through phishing attacks.You know the usual fake emails claiming to be from the bank, or a co-worker, or some other trustworthy important person in your life? Now envision that those emails ara as real as you and I can’t distinguish actually.
That’s the problem. AI is slowly making it almost impossible to differentiate between a real phishing attack and a mere spam message. Hacker don’t need any bad spelling or wrong typo anymore. They even have applications that will send out an email that replicates the style of that friend, or boss, or whoever exactly. And if you are still using codes like SMS or other less efficient methods of MFA they can overcome them.
You Should Care About MFA?
However, MFA is not just another tech term. It also reduces the risks of account hacks by close to a hundred percent. It has been gradually gaining popularity as a norm needed to fulfill the requirements of various sectors such as health and financial organizations. Customers notice too. They want to be able to say ‘my data is protected over there’. By using the MFA, you prove to them that you’re willing to go the extra mile making sure your business is secure.
And here’s the thing. The expense of implementing MFA is negligible, yet what you stand to lose once you are hit by a data breach is immeasurable. The actual average of the payments demanded by a ransomware gang is in millions of dollars.
Cybercriminals Are Getting Smarter
They are deploying apparatuses like Generative AI to employ strikes that are on many levels more plausible. It’s not just emails either. They are using deep fake technology and creating fake identities of your CEO or any other colleague that you trust.
Just think of getting a call from someone who looks like your boss, the voice, and even the looks. They want your personal details or tell you to give approval on online transfer of some amount. That’s true but it is not real it is all artificial. That is that level of scams that we are dealing with at the moment.
What Happens If You Ignore the Problem?
If you skip MFA then you are effectively exposing your business to security threats and hazards that could cost you in many ways. Attackers are using sophisticated tools to go after businesses such as yours. Others do not even necessarily require technical training. Some of them actually, purchase Ransomware-as-a-Service and conduct the attacks from such locations.
Phishing attacks are not a thing of the past. They are getting worse as generative AI creates more of them. Imittatives are getting realistic. And old school mechanisms such as SMS codes are not upto the pace.
Final Thought
The first thing that you have to do is assessment of the current security status. Discover where you are weak. Then select your MFA solution which best suits your business. Search for tools that prevent phishing attacks. Some of the best options are those that are FIDO2-compliant and have support for hardware keys or biometrics.
Start small. Start applying it to your most important tier of systems first. Explain to your team how you expect it to be employed. Watch the outcome and then broaden your horizons.