Multi-Factor Authentication: A second means of verifying your identity when logging into a service. Something you know (password), something you have (phone).
Ever heard that it’s not a problem, until it is? MFA perfectly fits that description. Turn it on everywhere and get ahead of the severe pain of not having it on.
Microsoft posted a great article that covers Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). They have data that indicates accounts with MFA are 99.9% more secure. It also links to a good white paper to “convince your boss to enable this”.
It’s not just something to enable on your Microsoft accounts. Turn it on for every service you have. For example:
- Microsoft 365
- IT Management Systems & Backups
- Banking / Accounting
- Retail Loyalty Apps
- Online Shopping Accounts
- Customer Databases
- Messaging & Social Media
- File Storage (e.g. Dropbox)
- Slack
- Every other online account you have. They don’t offer it? Tell them they should, and consider closing your account if they refuse to offer it. Luckily that’s rare these days.
It’s important to note that text-based approvals are less secure, as hackers can more easily gain access to SMS (text) messages if they really wanted to. Try to use an authenticator app such as the Microsoft Authenticator or Authy.
Most importantly, you must have this enabled on work and personal email accounts. Gaining access to email is a great way to quickly go and reset passwords for all your other services, not to mention the contents of your email.
Stay safe out there!