{"id":3196,"date":"2016-03-15T15:19:34","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T07:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.bankvaultonline.com\/?p=3196"},"modified":"2016-03-15T15:19:34","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T07:19:34","slug":"bankvault-fills-security-gaps-for-secure-logon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bankvault.com\/bankvault-fills-security-gaps-for-secure-logon\/","title":{"rendered":"BankVault fills security gaps for secure logon"},"content":{"rendered":"
Most of us understand that \u2018123456\u2019 should never be used as a password, but it doesn\u2019t stop lots of people. It\u2019s still the number one choice after years of bad publicity.<\/p>\n
Humans are also very good at taking shortcuts, relying on habit, saving time, helping others, sharing logins, trusting colleagues, and reading emails. These are all exploitable characteristics for a hacker. We know better, but most of us also try to be decent people who get along with others. For a scammer, that can be gullible enough.<\/p>\n
Security technology has often struggled to keep pace with scammers and hackers. Wherever technology needs to interface with humans, it also needs\u00a0to be simple or people won\u2019t (or can\u2019t) use it. Unfortunately, these are conflicting requirements – something easy to use, but difficult to hack.<\/p>\n
Two-factor authentication (2FA) has been one of the most successful steps forwards in balancing the need for a complex security system to also interface with humans. Security is inherent to the process.<\/p>\n
It works because unlike normal username and password logon processes, 2FA requires a second \u2018factor\u2019 or \u2018condition\u2019 to be met for a logon on to be successful. To log on, you need two unrelated things. Usually, one thing is \u2018something you know\u2019 (your pin or password) and the other is \u2018something you have\u2019 or get given (typically a code sent to your phone, or in more \u2018traditional\u2019 organisations – a security fob). Two different things make it much less likely that both can be stolen from you.<\/p>\n
2FA makes sense<\/h2>\n
It minimises opportunities for hackers to use human or technical means to compromise your logon through technology because it\u2019s a process which the bank or website forces you to do. It\u2019s a little bit of extra effort, but most of us appreciate its value.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, each of the two factors is still hackable, and 2FA only focuses on the security of the logon process itself. It simply raises the bar.<\/p>\n