International. As logins are performed using biometric methods, such as facial and fingerprint readers on consumer devices such as smartphones and game consoles, they represent a tempting target for hackers.
They will take advantage of the false sense of security they convey and will be able to decipher a one-factor authentication login method to carry out a major attack.
While biometrics is more convenient than remembering many complex passwords, and they are more secure than poor passwords because they are harder to crack, it is still just a unique method of authentication.
If individuals and those responsible for access and systems and computer security of organizations of all sizes do not add a second form of authentication, cybercriminals who successfully hack biometrics can easily access not only their financial data, but also personal data.
It's only a matter of time until hackers perfect these methods and exploit the growing trend of biometrics as the only form of authentication.
"In the absence of multi-factor authentication (MFA), cybercriminals can use a variety of techniques to obtain usernames and passwords, such as spear phishing, social engineering, and purchase stolen credentials on the dark web, with the goal of accessing the network and appropriating valuable company and customer information," explains Signe Burke. Product Marketing Manager at WatchGuard Technologies
AuthPoint is a cloud-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) solution designed for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Until now MFA had been out of reach for SMEs due to costs, complexity and management issues.
"With AuthPoint, we not only help reduce the possibility of network outages and data breaches resulting from credential loss or theft, we also offer this important capability entirely from the cloud for easy setup and management," she says.
While the use of biometric data is this year's trend, it is time to implement the use of multi-factor authentication (MFA) to achieve additional protection among the most security-savvy groups, especially by boosting authentication and MFA for cloud application defense.
"AuthPoint goes beyond traditional 2-factor authentication (2FA) by considering innovative ways to positively identify users, and our large ecosystem of third-party integrations means you can use MFA to protect access to network, VPNs, and cloud applications," Burke said.
Cybercriminals today target organizations of any size, which drives all companies to implement more robust, secure, reliable and effective solutions.
"With AuthPoint, we are breaking down old barriers between small and medium-sized businesses and MFA adoption, with a solution that is affordable, easy to deploy, and hugely scalable, made possible by WatchGuard's cloud-based authentication approach."
