![]() ![]() Small wonder that compromised credentials were the most commonly exploited initial attack vector in 2021, accounting for 20 percent of all data breaches. Other security questions - e.g., “Where did you go on your honeymoon?” - can be relatively easy to guess. Answers to some security questions - e.g., “What is your mother's maiden name?” - can be cracked easily through basic research or social engineering attacks, in which hackers trick users into divulging personal information. Other types of knowledge factors don't present much more of a challenge. Hackers can obtain passwords and other knowledge factors through phishing attacks, installing keystroke recorders or spyware on users' devices, or staging brute-force attacks - running scripts or bots that generate and test potential passwords until one works. A password is the most common knowledge factor personal identification numbers (PINs) and answers to security questions are others.ĭespite their widespread use, knowledge factors in general - and passwords in particular - are the most vulnerable type of authentication factor. A knowledge factor is a bit of information that, theoretically, only the user would know. In the vast majority of 2FA implementations, a knowledge factor serves as the first authentication factor. Knowledge factors: Something the user knows Ultimately, the strength of any 2FA scheme depends on the types of authentication factors it requires a user to provide. Second, at least one of the factors required by 2FA is more difficult to hack than a password. First, it forces hackers to hack two factors instead of just one. ![]() Two-factor authentication reduces the risk of unauthorized access in two ways.
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