Are you the kind of person who uses the same password for everything? Easily guessed passwords is a huge issue that can cost you and your business a lot of money should someone hack your website or social media channels. According to the Xero website, up to 80% of data breaches can be prevented with the addition of an extra basic action including enabling Multi Factor Authentication. This is something that will protect both yourself and your customers from a potential attack.
What is MFA?
Put simply, MFA is an extra layer of protection that triple checks who you are when attempting to log in to an account. It has proven to be extremely successful through using a combination of something you already know such as your username and password along with something else.
This can include an authentication app you download onto your mobile phone or tablet as well as the typical ‘select all the lampposts in the picture’ message request you may see from time to time. Overall, it helps to prevent allowing anybody apart from yourself from accessing your account even if the password is known or easily guessable.
When should I use MFA?
For as long as passwords continue to exist for authentication purposes, there will always be the risk that people choose a machine guessable password therefore becoming increasingly susceptible to a cyber-attack or hacking attempt.
If you are a business owner, big or small, MFA should be used whenever and wherever possible to protect yourself and any sensitive information you might hold within your business. This can include your primary email, different financial accounts, Google account or even your social media accounts.
MFA will never be a bad thing for a business to use. This is because it will always be set up to re-verify people, question first time users and prompt when the authentication has been determined as a risk. For example, if somebody on the other side of the world is attempting to log into your account.
Choosing MFA
If MFA is something you are looking to set up, several different social medias have now implemented measures to ensure that your account remains secure. An example includes LastPass, the password manager that allows for a strong and unique password to ensure your accounts remain protected.
Another example of this is Xero Bookkeeping Services which is an innovative and award-winning software that can assist. Xero has recently rolled out MFA putting an extra lock on the door of keeping your data safe through their mobile app. To find out more about this service Xero provide, click here: Xero Multi-factor Authentication | Xero UK
Jaxstar Solutions can help you utilise your Xero account through our Xero Review and Fix Package. To find out more, click here: Xero Review and Fix Package – Business Management Support (jaxstarsolutions.co.uk)
