All You Need To Know About Risk-Based Authentication

Many times you have to give your username or password along with a security question with its answer, fill out an OTP sent to your mobile phone, or do the cumbersome task of clicking all boxes with traffic lights and filling out confusing captcha codes. Ever thought what is all this for? Well, it’s all part of keeping your digital identity safe.

Now, as users, are you always satisfied with this level of added security? You may appreciate such strict security checks while accessing your medical records or bank accounts, but your appreciation level is likely to drop when you have to sift through so many security layers while browsing a simple e-commerce website. We can say that too much of a good thing is sometimes bad, at least when it comes to user experience in terms of identity verification. 

Let us say, for example, you want to buy a shirt and browse through an online shopping site. For this, you may prefer:

• No authentication process for browsing the site

• A simple authentication process like a username and password to add items to your shopping cart

• An additional authentication factor like entering an OTP sent to your mobile phone when you want to check out and place your order.

Now, the above preferences simply mean:

• Low-risk activities such as site browsing should need no authentication

• Moderate risk activities like adding items to cart should require moderate authentication methods

• High-risk activities like placing the order and making the payment should require a higher level of authentication

This approach is referred to as “risk-based authentication.” It is a system where the level of authentication required relies on the risk involved with the activity. In high-risk activities, organizations usually opt for MFA solutions that manage multi-factor authentication mechanisms along with risk-based authentication.

What is MFA technology?

MFA technology is an authentication system that uses two or more authentication factors to authenticate the identity of a user or device. It does not depend on the simple username and password combination. MFA solutions help prevent unauthorized access to critical data and applications by shielding organizations against the most advanced cyber attacks, identity theft, and data breaches.

Now that you know what is MFA technology, you should also note that MFA solutions, along with risk-based authentication, can add up to the security of digital identities in an organization, thus making it highly secure against illicit data exploitation. MFA solutions use a combination of authentication factors, such as usernames, passwords, OTPs, biometrics, email magic links, etc., for authentication purposes. MFA in conjunction with risk-based authentication can be highly advantageous for providing an advanced level of security. 

Now let us dive into the waters of risk-based authentication and learn how it can be a crucial element for cybersecurity. 

Here are some of the best practices of risk-based authentication to use it to its full potential!
Source: https://emudhra.com/blog/risk-based-authentication-everything-you-need-to-know