Why Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Is Necessary? How Does 2FA Function?

Why Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Is Necessary ?

In addition to the usual practise of inputting a username and password, two factor authentication (2FA) is a security system that requires users to engage with two separate authentication methods while trying to access resources on a computer network.

A user must provide at least two authentication methods before being given access to a website or network using two factor authentication, which may involve two of five different factors.

Though it's just recently been the norm on many major websites, it has existed since the middle of the 1980s.

The very minimum that a business should be doing to safeguard its data is two-factor authentication (2FA), so it's critical that users choose websites that provide this level of protection.

 

How Does 2FA Function?

Users must validate two pieces of data, commonly known as "factors," from the following categories when they want to log in to a cloud-based or on-premise network, either as part of their employment or when using consumer software such as banking apps and e-commerce platforms.

Factor of "knowledge": anything the user is aware of, most frequently a password or PIN code. Factors of knowledge are frequently referred to as "secrets."

"Possession" factor: something the user possesses or has access to, such as a token, an ID card, a key fob, or an app that runs on their phone.

A "biometric" factor is anything that can be used to verify that a user is who they claim to be by using biological data such as their fingerprints, voice patterns, or iris patterns.

Login attempts are limited by the timed factor, which has a set time limit.

Location factor: the origin of the authentication attempt, as determined by tools like IP addresses or GPS data from a laptop or mobile device.

Which of the aforementioned elements must be present before a user is given access to a network can be specified by IT administrators. Location and timing factors are typically reserved for corporate IT networks and remote working restrictions, therefore most 2FA solutions only ask for the first three.

 

History of 2FA

Although 2FA is frequently believed to have started in the 2010s, its origins actually date back to the late 20th century.

In order to get access to the internal IT network, a user's password and a series of numbers displayed on an LCD on a small key fob were entered in 1986 by the Massachusetts-based cybersecurity firm RSA. In the years that followed, enterprise-level businesses started using this strategy to limit access to both physical and virtual assets.

2FA wasn't made a standard until 2010, which was long into the digital era. Google announced in January of that year that it had been forced to suspend its Chinese operation and introduce 2FA for all Google Business accounts as a result of persistent attacks on the Gmail accounts of several human rights activists in China. In 2021, the procedure was made universal for all Google users.

Large software firms, financial institutions, and government agencies began to deploy 2FA as a more secure alternative to old methods of authentication after Google set the example.

Since then, 2FA has undergone numerous revisions that incorporate biometric data, and a sophisticated variant termed "multi-factor authentication" (MFA) that requires any number of verification methods, not just two, has also been developed.