Introduction to Multi Factor Authentication (MFA)

you have probably heard of two-factor  authentication and multi-factor authentication   before. In this video we're going to see  what they really are and how they improve   the security of our network. To access certain  services we generally need to be authenticated and authentication is all about proving that you  really are who you claim to be.   There are three primary methods called factors to prove who you are these are known as 'what you are', 'what you know', and 'what you have'. Some people also like to  add where you are and what you do to this list   now this definitely sounds weird at  first but it will all make sense soon   the first form of authentication that would  jump to your mind is a username and password   this is an example of something that you know. That  is only you know your password so if you enter it   correctly you must be who you say you are. Another  example of what you know is a pin that you might   use when entering a secure building or withdrawing  money at the bank. This isn't foolproof though what   happens if someone steals your password they  might guess it maybe you share it with them   both of which you should be trying to prevent. But  even if you have an unguessable password and don't   share it a website you use might be compromised  and your password could be stolen that way. If   you're skeptical i guarantee that it does happen  take a look at the link here for example this   site lists whether your password has been stolen  from a compromised site at one time or another   so the problem then is that a single factor  can be too easily compromised. If that happens   someone else can authenticate as you. What we can  do then is add an additional factor for example   when you log on to a website it might send a code  to your phone which you are then required to type   in you must have the phone in your possession for  this to work. This is an example of what you have   if someone were to compromise your password  they would then also need to steal your phone   it's now a lot harder to log in as you  this has been around for quite a while   think of withdrawing money from the bank you  need a bank card which is something you have   as well as a pin which is something you know  this could also be an app on your phone like   google authenticator or a physical device that  you carry with you called a key fob and that's   the guts of multi-factor authentication adding  security by using more than one authentication   factor. You've probably used this before and maybe  you've not even realized it think about when you   do your online banking for example you open a  web page you enter your username and password and   perhaps an account id. This is the first factor of  authentication the bank sends a code to your phone   which you need to type in this is the second  factor only you should be in possession of   both the login details as well as the phone  so you have now proven that you really are you   if you would like to try this out i recommend  looking at an application called duo security   they have free accounts that you can use with a  website like wordpress. We mentioned three main   factors at the start of the video are you  wondering what the 'what you are' factor is? it's basically using some sort of biosecurity  that means fingerprints, retina scans, that sort   of thing it's essentially using some part  of you to prove you are who you say you are   so that means you could use all three factors  in some cases. Use a password to log in send a   code to an app on your phone and then needing a  fingerprint to unlock your phone. To compromise   this an attacker would need to steal your password  steal your phone and then somehow coerce you to   unlock the phone for them either that or steal  your finger which is a pretty grisly thought   traditionally these are the three factors of  authentication but some people like to consider   two more. The first is where you are this could  be something like an access list on a firewall   restricting logins to certain locations. However  that doesn't really prove your identity so i think   it's a bit of a stretch. The other is what you  do which has some relatively new applications   this is something that you do uniquely like a  signature some technologies like Capcha can   look at details like how you move your mouse which  a robot would find hard to forge. Once again though   these are more focused on proving that  you're human rather than who you are   and that's how MFA works. I hope you  can see the benefits of using this   and are keen to give it a try. In my experience  though the tricky bit is convincing your users

Channel: Network Direction

Views: 11,902

Keywords: Network direction, Multi factor authentication, Mfa, Two factor authentication, 2fa, Authentication, Factors, What you are, What you know, What you have, Username, Password, Pin, Haveibeenpwned, Key fob, Duo security, Google authenticator, biometric

Id: STI6vtKtHpU

Length: 4min 50sec (290 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 20 2020