What are the newest authentication technologies and tools to keep your data secure?
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Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a user or device that wants to access a system or data. It is a crucial component of information security, as it prevents unauthorized access and protects sensitive information. However, traditional authentication methods, such as passwords, PINs, or security questions, are often vulnerable to hacking, phishing, or forgetting. In this article, we will explore some of the newest authentication technologies and tools that can enhance your data security and user experience.
Biometric authentication uses your unique physical or behavioral characteristics, such as your fingerprint, face, voice, or iris, to verify your identity. Unlike passwords or tokens, biometric factors are hard to forge, lose, or share. Biometric authentication can also be faster and more convenient than typing or remembering complex passwords. However, biometric authentication also has some challenges, such as privacy, accuracy, and scalability. You need to ensure that your biometric data is stored and processed securely, that your biometric sensors are reliable and calibrated, and that your biometric system can handle a large number of users and devices.
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Amado G.
Soporte técnico remoto TI | Ciberseguridad | Microsoft Partner | Distribuidor Contpaqi | Acronis
Aquí difiero ligeramente, ya que he experimentado accesos no autorizados a mi información en dispositivos con seguridad biométrica, específicamente facial y de voz. Sin embargo, no he experimentado ningún acceso no autorizado en dispositivos que utilizan huellas dactilares. Tengo un hermano menor, con una diferencia de edad de 15 años, y él ha logrado acceder a mis dispositivos mediante la identificación por voz y facial. Aunque nuestras voces son diferentes en persona y hay parecido físico, él ha podido acceder a mis equipos sin problemas desde hace 10 años. Pensé que con las mejoras tecnológicas a lo largo de los años, esto ya no sería posible. Sin embargo, hace unos días hicimos una prueba y él logró entrar a mis dispositivos.
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Bojan Simic
Co-Founder and CEO at HYPR - Creating Trust in the Identity Lifecycle
The most critical aspect to doing biometric authentication security is by requiring the storage to be decentralized. This way, there is no central repository that can be compromised which hackers can then use to access accounts protected by those biometrics. This is critical because unlike passwords, biometrics are not easy to change. Standards like FIDO leverage on device biometrics with a tokenized credential that makes it much more practical to use biometric authentication at scale across many platforms.
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Abhishek Mani Tiwari
Information Security Consultant at Infosys
Newest authentication technologies and tools for data security include: 1. Passwordless Authentication: Using biometrics, tokens, or mobile apps for login. 2. Zero Trust Security: Verifying identity continuously, not just at login. 3. Behavioral Analytics: Analyzing user behavior for anomalies. 4. FIDO2: Standard for secure and easy-to-use authentication. 5. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Combining multiple authentication methods. 6. Blockchain-Based Authentication: Enhanced security and transparency. 7. AI and Machine Learning: Detecting and preventing fraud proactively. Adopting these tools and technologies can strengthen data security.
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Multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires you to provide two or more pieces of evidence to prove your identity, such as something you know (password), something you have (token), or something you are (biometric). MFA can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access, as it makes it harder for attackers to compromise multiple factors at once. MFA can also provide more flexibility and options for users to choose their preferred authentication methods. However, MFA also has some drawbacks, such as increased complexity, cost, and user frustration. You need to balance the level of security and convenience that MFA offers for your specific use case and scenario.
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Amado G.
Soporte técnico remoto TI | Ciberseguridad | Microsoft Partner | Distribuidor Contpaqi | Acronis
La Autenticación Multifactor (AMF) es una excelente manera de mejorar la seguridad, ya que requiere múltiples formas de verificación. Esto dificulta que los atacantes comprometan todos los factores a la vez. Sin embargo, como se menciona, también puede aumentar la complejidad y el costo, y potencialmente causar frustración al usuario. por lo tanto considero concientizar al usuario final sobre la seguridad de la información, ya que al saber que es importante aplicar estas opciones de seguridad quizá se le haga menos tedioso y por convicción lo realice sin problema
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Gregory Fox
Veteran | CISSP • CCSP • EMBA
MFA is great, but it’s not a silver bullet. Email, OTP, and call back options are phishable. Push notification suffers from a condition called push fatigue. Anyone serious about secure authentication should be cautious of these options. FIDO2 and PKI are more secure options, but require hardware such as Yubikeys or smart cards. IDaaS vendors may have their own MFA authenticators as well, such as FastPass which uses biometrics. Utilizing resources such as NIST guidance or consulting someone that has experience implement a solution can be invaluable in successful implantation. This process is finding the balance of properly securing the data while also providing an easy solution for the end user.
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Anand Krishnamurthy
Tech Architecture Delivery Manager at Accenture
MFA is another piece of authentication mechanism widely used by many Financial, Communication and even retail for their online customers. Personally feel this protects keeps one alerted if any one does any login attempts. Nikhil was thinking about you when writing this.. good old days at our previous project.
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Behavioral authentication analyzes your patterns of behavior, such as your typing style, mouse movements, browsing habits, or location, to determine your identity. Behavioral authentication can provide continuous and passive verification, as it does not require you to enter or present any credentials. Behavioral authentication can also adapt to your changing behavior and context, as it learns from your feedback and actions. However, behavioral authentication also has some limitations, such as false positives, false negatives, and ethical concerns. You need to ensure that your behavioral data is collected and analyzed with your consent and awareness, that your behavioral models are accurate and fair, and that your behavioral system can handle dynamic and diverse situations.
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Amado G.
Soporte técnico remoto TI | Ciberseguridad | Microsoft Partner | Distribuidor Contpaqi | Acronis
Estoy seguro de que ayuda en el análisis de accesos a detectar algo inusual y prevenir un acceso no autorizado Todos los factores para implementar una mejor seguridad son importantes, y si se combinan con otros estoy seguro que se dificultara mucho más los accesos no autorizados
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Yusuf Purna
Chief Cyber Risk Officer at MTI | Advancing Cybersecurity and AI Through Constant Learning
Behavioral authentication offers a unique blend of security and user experience by passively analyzing user interactions. It excels in providing continuous, non-intrusive verification, a contrast to static authentication methods. However, it raises significant privacy and ethical concerns, as behavioral data can be deeply personal. Ensuring fairness and avoiding bias in these algorithms is as crucial as their technical accuracy. As behavioral authentication matures, its growing accuracy and adaptability could make it an integral part of future security systems, but this must be paralleled by stringent ethical and privacy standards.
Passwordless authentication eliminates the need for passwords altogether, and relies on other authentication methods, such as biometric, token, or email-based verification. Passwordless authentication can improve your data security and user experience, as it reduces the chances of password breaches, phishing, or forgetting. Passwordless authentication can also simplify and streamline your authentication process, as it reduces the steps and friction involved. However, passwordless authentication also has some challenges, such as compatibility, availability, and recovery. You need to ensure that your passwordless system is compatible with your existing systems and standards, that your passwordless methods are available and accessible at all times, and that your passwordless recovery options are secure and easy to use.
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Amado G.
Soporte técnico remoto TI | Ciberseguridad | Microsoft Partner | Distribuidor Contpaqi | Acronis
La autenticación sin contraseña tiene el potencial de mejorar significativamente la seguridad y la experiencia del usuario. Al eliminar las contraseñas, se reducen los riesgos asociados con el robo de contraseñas y el olvido de las mismas. Sin embargo, como se menciona, hay desafíos que deben abordarse, como la compatibilidad con sistemas existentes y la disponibilidad constante de métodos de autenticación sin contraseña. Además, es crucial tener un proceso de recuperación robusto y fácil de usar en caso de que los usuarios no puedan autenticarse por alguna razón. En general, creo que la autenticación sin contraseña es un paso adelante en la dirección correcta para mejorar la seguridad y la comodidad del usuario.
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Levin Lei
Cybersecurity and IT Audit | CCNA | CISA | CISSP | CCSK
What you know, what you have and what you are, are the traditional authentication methods ... Where you are is the newer method to authenticate based on your location.
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Rene Martinez Lara
Director Cyber Risk at Deloitte
La autenticación passwordless es hoy una realidad ya que con el ecosistema tecnológico vigente, especialmente a nivel de smartphones y tablets en donde más del 95% permite utilizar passwordless basado en FIDO2, hace posible avanzar en un mecanismo resistente a ataques de ingeniería social y los diversos tipos de phishing actuales (Smishing, qrishing, entre otros) o bien evitar la captura de credenciales desde computadores afectados con Ransomware y/o keyloggers Todo esto aumenta la confianza digital de los clientes o usuarios en marcas, servicios y empresas
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Decentralized authentication uses distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, to store and verify your identity and credentials. Decentralized authentication can enhance your data security and privacy, as it eliminates the need for centralized servers or intermediaries that can be hacked, corrupted, or compromised. Decentralized authentication can also empower you to control and manage your own identity and data, as it gives you the ability to choose who can access and use your information. However, decentralized authentication also has some obstacles, such as scalability, usability, and interoperability. You need to ensure that your decentralized system can handle a large volume and variety of transactions and users, that your decentralized interface is user-friendly and intuitive, and that your decentralized network is compatible and compliant with other systems and regulations.
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Mohammad Junaid
Cyber-Information Security Manager/Officer/Architect/Lead
With the exception of the passwordless and decentralized authentication methods, none of the authentication technologies mentioned in this article are very recent.
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Bojan Simic
Co-Founder and CEO at HYPR - Creating Trust in the Identity Lifecycle
Decentralized authentication is critical in order to ensure that the organizations and products that handle our identities are doing so in a responsible manner. The blockchain aspect is important where we need immutability in identity capabilities which is more important for some industries such as healthcare and financial services than others. However, any solutions in this space must be flexible to support various levels of privacy that may be needed due to regulatory or internal corporate requirements.
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🛡Mark Johnston
Director - Office of the CISO, Google Cloud at Google
Businesses are at a higher risk of compromise if you don't deploy Strong Authentication using Phishing Resistant Authentication solutions like FIDO2 with Hardware Security Keys or Software based Passkeys. Both these solutions are highly effective.
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Bojan Simic
Co-Founder and CEO at HYPR - Creating Trust in the Identity Lifecycle
We must consider identity verification and how it is increasingly a vector of attack for hackers. As authentication controls improve, hackers will continue to target the credential provisioning process more as the next weak point.
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Daniyal N.
Head of Threat Intelligence Research @ BT | CISSP, CCSP, CISM
Well, there are quite a few authentication methods to discuss, but I'll highlight three that I particularly like. First, there's hardware-based authentication, using tokens, security keys, and TPMs for strong security. Next, combining risk-based with continuous authentication provides an extra layer of security by looking at the context of authentication requests and monitoring user behavior and device data in real-time to spot anomalies. Lastly, my personal favorite is quantum-safe authentication, which serves as a resilient, future-proof solution in the face of evolving threats posed by quantum computing, mitigating cryptographic vulnerabilities and ensuring long-term security.
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