In the digital age, identity assurance is critical, particularly in the remote workforce. Operating outside the traditional office setup has been gaining traction in recent years. However, it boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic as enterprises needed to continue activities despite lockdown and physical distancing protocols.
Switching to a remote work model adds responsibility to enterprises, requiring them to implement digital identity verification processes to protect their systems.
Knowledge-based credentials like passwords and security questions are among the most common defenses used to prevent unauthorized persons from accessing someone else’s account. This conventional identity verification procedure relies on the concept that only the real account owner knows the login details.
Nevertheless, these knowledge-based authentication factors are easily stolen, forgotten, or lost. They also do not prove that the person providing them is the actual identity owner. Moreover, anyone who knows the information can access another person’s account to perform fraudulent activities.
Even during a pandemic, bad actors remain persistent in circumventing cybersecurity measures to perpetuate their illicit schemes. Therefore, enterprises should replace their old identity proofing methods with passwordless solutions adherent to the FIDO2 authentication standard.
This new set of specifications allows users to harness commonly used devices to authenticate to online platforms. FIDO2 combines mobile biometric identity verification with device-based authentication as a layered defense against cybersecurity threats. The premise of this multifactor authentication (MFA) process is that the device-based login credentials cannot be unlocked unless the biometric authentication factor is supplied. It offers far better security than passwords and is not easily susceptible to circumvention tactics used against knowledge-based credentials.
Several digital Identity as a Service (IDaaS) providers offer MFA solutions that harness biometric technology and on-device authentication factors. And companies must choose the right vendor that meets their requirements.
For more information, check this infographic provided by authID that discusses the importance of biometric identity assurance among the remote workforce.
