You may recall a recent blog referring to all the countless benefits of Office 365 for businesses. Office 365 has plenty of great and useful features, this includes multi-factor authentication.
Multi-factor authentication is, as described by Microsoft themselves, a method of authentication that requires the use of more than one verification method and adds a second layer of security to user sign-in and transactions. It works by requiring your username and password, and any of the following additional verification methods:
• a passcode generated by a smartphone app or sent by text message
• a phone-call
• a smart card
• or finally, a biometric device such as a fingerprint scanner.
When you own or work for a small business or any business for that matter, there are programs and highly important files that need to be prioritised and protected; especially when it comes to any banking login details and applications. Passwords are of course a necessity, but often people use the same password for many different programs and applications. It does make it easy to remember them all and have no problem logging in to everything! However, if someone gets hold of that one significant password that you use, it can become a huge problem; it is such a regular occurrence for us to use one password and hackers are extremely aware of this, using it to their advantage.
Multi-factor authentication will add an extra layer of security for this exact reason. Even if a hacker gets hold of your password, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to get into your account, because they would still need the second layer of authentication, you can choose to receive a phone-call as your second verification method, a text message to your mobile, or my favourite, a one-time passcode generated by a smartphone app. Once you are signed in, you can always change the way you want to receive your second verification code.
With the latest version of the Office software, once multi-factor authentication is set up, the user experience is seamless and easy; adding security without making your life more complicated. You can also use multi-factor authentication on your smartphones and tablets which means added security for your most personal devices.
As we highlight in many of our posts, security should be a top priority when running any business. Any risk you take could be severely damaging to your files, your applications, and your ability to function as a business. In addition to all the other great features that Office 365 can bring to your business, multi-factor authentication will give you the peace of mind that your important data is safe from hackers. If you need help setting up Office 365, or multi-factor authentication please give one of our friendly consultants a call.
If you would like more information on Office 365 and how your business could benefit call us on 0345 450 7876 or use our contact form.