Usernames and passwords are the foundation of almost every application we use and every network we access. But these conventional credentials have become shockingly inadequate, and the days of relying solely on a simple username and password for protection are long gone.
As threat actors have become more clever and resourceful, companies need a more resilient defense. Enter single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA), two fundamental layers of security that can bolster your cyber defense in a relatively easy way.
In this blog, we'll delve into the world of SSO and MFA, explore their individual benefits, and explain why combining them can be a game-changer for your security posture.
Strengthening your security posture with SSO and MFA is not just a smart choice; it's a basic and essential step. To protect both your employees and your organization, Huntress highly recommends implementing both SSO and MFA. When combined, SSO can help limit employee frustration and increase password strength, while MFA allows for verification of user identity prior to them logging into any application or network you want to maintain tight control over.
Let’s dive into each and see what makes the SSO + MFA combo so strong.
Single sign-on, or SSO, is when applications or websites allow a person to log in using an already trusted third party to verify that the user is who they say they are.
Instead of juggling various usernames and passwords for different systems, users log in once, and SSO securely handles their access to various resources. You’ve probably encountered this before. Most sites today offer the option to log in with Google or another trusted account.
Multi-factor authentication, or MFA for short, is an authentication method that requires users to provide two or more verification factors before granting access. These factors typically fall into one of three categories:
1. Knowledge: Something only the user knows (e.g., a password)2. Possession: Something only the user has (e.g., a smartphone or security token)3. Inherence: Something only the user is (e.g., fingerprint or facial recognition)
MFA offers a significant security enhancement by adding an additional layer of authentication beyond just a username and password. Even if malicious actors manage to obtain login credentials, they would still be unable to access the account without the second factor.
While SSO and MFA serve different purposes, combining them can provide a robust defense against cyber threats. Implementing both allows organizations to improve security without creating a completely crappy experience for their users, while also making it easier to monitor network activity.
Let’s face it: passwords are a vulnerability. It’s tough for people to remember the complex, multi-character passwords that almost every application requires today. So wouldn’t it be so much easier to remember just one? One solid, complex, and hard-to-guess passphrase, that is.
With SSO, that one passphrase is all a user has to remember. But of course, SSO means fewer potential entry points for hackers—and once they’ve cracked the code, the doors have opened to all the user’s other accounts and applications. This is why requiring an additional authentication layer with MFA is so important.
By combining SSO and MFA, you strike a balance between convenience and security. Users enjoy the simplicity of logging in once, while MFA adds an extra layer of protection, ensuring that even if their credentials are compromised, an attacker still can't access their account.
Here are some essential tips for successfully implementing SSO and MFA in your organization:
Cybersecurity is a challenge for IT departments across all industries. Not only are expectations getting higher, but the workforce is also evolving with new technologies and an ever-expanding global ecosystem. That means the risks are high as well.
Single sign-on and multi-factor authentication represent two fundamental layers of security that can work in tandem to combat the vulnerabilities of traditional authentication methods. By combining SSO and MFA, you have a bit more peace of mind while protecting your organization or managed environments.
At Huntress, we’re acutely aware of how hackers are getting smarter and evolving their tradecraft. So, we need to ensure that we’re implementing changes to make it that much harder for attackers to access an application or network. That’s why the Huntress platform is enabled for both multi-factor authentication (MFA) and two-factor authentication (2FA).
If you’d like to learn more about enforcing MFA and 2FA, read our support article here.
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