You lock your windows and you lock your doors. Your physical security is a big deal. Is your cyber security as big of a deal? If it is not, it should be. In the past we have detailed some of the tried and true methods to make your accounts online just a little bit safer like using strong passwords and how to avoid phishing attacks. Hopefully you are following those practices and hopefully you have taken notice of the next generation of Internet security, Multi-Factor Authentication.
Every day someone is trying to get into your account. We notice that here at Nicely Done Sites every single day. Just by using a secure and strong password you make the likelihood of someone being able to brute force guess your password and logging in very low. While no account or page is completely, 100% secure a strong password, when used in combination with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) can make your account as secure as it could be.
What Is Multi-Factor Authentication?
You may have heard the term Two-Factor Authentication thrown around. It is the same thing. Besides using a password another factor is used to determine the identity of the person attempting to log in. This could be as simple as answering a secret question to having a one-time password texted to you or using your own biometric information.
Why could this be a big deal? With many hacks the attacker gains possession of a victim’s password, be it by guessing, stealing it or coercing it from the victim. In the past that would have been all that was needed. Now something else stands in the way.
How Effective Is MFA
Big Cloud services are a lucrative target. Individual accounts have all kinds of valuable information, like sensitive employee or customer information or trade secrets. Microsoft and Google are two of the biggest Cloud services on the market. In August, Microsoft said that 99.9% of all automated account takeover attacks were blocked from happening even if the attacker had the actual password for the account.
Implementing MFA
If you want to secure your WordPress website, whether it is just a front page for your business or if you run an ecommerce platform, consider using Multi-Factor Authentication. Most of your users will understand, they want their information to be as secure as possible and for most it will be a minor inconvenience. Chances are your customers are already using at least one site that uses Multi-Factor Authentication so they’ve already come in contact with it.
How can you implement Multi-Factor Authentication? A WordPress plugin should be installed and that will handle most of the heavy lifting. There are quite a few of them and WordPress has compiled some of the more popular (click here to check it out). If you need help that’s what Nicely Done Sites is here for. We can get one of these set up on your web page so that your WordPress site will be as secure as possible.
We don’t want to see any of our clients’ accounts get hacked. That is why we stress strong passwords and good security. It is also why we stress keeping your WordPress site up to date either by yourself or by signing a maintenance agreement for Nicely Done Sites to do it. This can be another tool in your toolbelt so that you can keep your site as secure as possible. It could be the best thing you do all year.