MFA stands for multi-factor authentication, which means that when logging into your email account, you use at least one other security method in addition to your password.
In this context, a ‘factor’ is something about you, from you or relating to you that is unique to you – something that is yours alone. (For example, your first name or hair colour are out right away, but your national ID number can count as a factor.)
Most often, three types of computer security factors are listed:
- Something you know (a password, PIN code)
- Something you have (a smartphone, security key)
- Something that characterises you, i.e. something you are born with (fingerprint, facial features).
However, a new, fourth type has also emerged recently:
- Somewhere you are, i.e. location (the system requires an additional method of identification if you wish to log in to a company system from home).
Of these factors, the best known and most common is the password, which falls into the ‘know’ category. This is most often supplemented by an element from the ‘possess’ category – a card-shaped security key is the classic example, but nowadays the smartphone is more widespread. In these cases, the factor can take several forms: it may be a notification sent to a smartphone, or a TOTP (Time-based One-Time Password) – usually in the form of a regularly changing six-digit code – which lies halfway between ‘knowledge’ and ‘possession’.
The logic behind this method, often referred to as 2FA (two-factor authentication), is that a single type of factor – such as a password – is easy to crack, but combining several different types of factors makes it significantly more difficult.
And let’s not forget: cybercriminals look for the easiest targets – and if it’s easy for us to remember, it’s easy for them to hack!
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