What is the optimal balance between user experience and security? This is a core question raised often in cybersecurity as both are key demands that run in parallel, and sometimes even contradict one another.
On one hand, you have users and employees that want simple access to their applications. Employees lose overall productivity when there’s more friction added to the login process and it’s even estimated that up to 80% of users delete applications that don’t meet their expectations. However, on the other hand, both internal and external threats are on rise. A data breach is nearing $4M per incident, and 2/3 of all cyberattacks are directed at small and medium businesses. This is causing IT teams to want more control over the infrastructure, and understandably so!
The crux of the question revolves around authentication, and specifically multi-factor authentication (MFA) which is the process of logging into an application using at least two factors of authentication. A few common examples of MFA options are an SMS text, email, hard and soft token, or a biometric. These factors would need to be authenticated on top of the traditional password before the user is granted access. This presents you with the ability to add an additional layer of security, without the additional friction.
We hosted our latest LastPass MasterClass on this very topic to offer best-practices and cover the MFA options available to you with LastPass. Specifically, the MasterClass covered:
- An overview of MFA
- MFA options available with LastPass
- Common MFA use cases
- Best practices for using MFA at your company, including related policies you can enable with LastPass
