There is no sure-fire way to prevent a security breach, but today’s professionals in the medical and legal industry bear the responsibility of doing everything possible to safeguard their organization, their data, and clients against a leak. Beyond the responsibility to “do your best” from a security perspective, regulations are now evolving to address security firms, providing an additional driver toward the widespread adoption of security best practices and safeguards. It’s on you to make sure your patient, client and organization data stay safe. One easy way to do this is to take advantage of two-factor authentication.
What Is Two-Factor Authentication?
Two-factor authentication, also known as multi-factor authentication, is one of the trusted security measures that helps fight against remote attacks such as phishing, credential exploitation, and other attempts to hack your personal accounts. Two-factor authentication adds additional levels of authentication to an account login as opposed to a single-factor authentication when you only need to enter username and one password.
Without your physical device, remote hackers are unable to pretend to be you in order to gain unauthorized access to corporate networks, cloud storage, financial information, etc.
Why You Should Enable Two-Factor Authentication
Two-Factor Authentication, in particular, is a must-have as part of a multi-layered approach to data security. Here are a few key reasons why two-factor authentication should be adopted by all medical firms, law firms and other professional services organizations:
#1: Medical and Legal Industries are beginning to require it. For the medical and legal industries ensuring that your patient and client data is safe is not only smart but in both cases, it is required. For the legal industry two-factor authentication is required by the ethics rules and the medical industry HIPAA recommends two-factor authentication. And while two-factor authentication may pose an extra step to your workflow, the impediment is minimal when compared to the consequences of client data being stolen.
#2: Data breaches happen everyday. Cybercriminals are extremely effective and are constantly growing in both sophistication and volume. According to the the Anti-Phishing Working Group (AWPG), “The number of phishing websites observed by APWG increased 250% from the last quarter of 2015 through the first quarter of 2016.” Phishing websites today are so close to the real thing that they are often hard to distinguish from the credible brand sites that they are imitating. This means that your staff are even more likely to fall victim to a phishing campaign. MFA provides an additional layer of protection when this takes place.
#3: Passwords are not enough. Not only are passwords lucrative targets for cybercriminals, they are often weak and easily acquired. Two-factor authentication provides an additional layer of security beyond the password.
#4: It is your responsibility to put every mechanism in place to protect client data. When it comes to cybersecurity, there is no 100% guarantee against a data breach. However, it is imperative to put every reasonable safeguard in place in order to best prevent an incident. This extends to any legal technology vendor that you deal with as well.
Where to Get Two-Factor Authentication
Nearly every major app on the market today has a two-factor authentication system in place. This includes popular services such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, Google, Dropbox, and even Twitter. And for major services that still lack two-factor authentication, it’s inevitable that the option will eventually arrive.
Many major medical, legal and professional software vendors include two-factor authentication. As your organization moves forward with adopting new technology that resides in the cloud, it is more important than ever that you inquire as to whether or not two-factor authentication is available and how it is implemented.
Regardless of which services you use, it is imperative that you start using the two-factor authentication options that come with them. Keeping your data safe from those who wish to do you harm only requires a few additional seconds of your time. Enable the option today.
For over a decade Kinetix Solutions, has been a leading provider of IT Managed Services, Business Intelligence and Custom Development solutions. Local support teams paired with a 24 X 7 Support Center provide customers a seamless and cost effective IT solution. This allows companies to focus on their business knowing that their IT infrastructure will be up and running and they will always have access to the latest innovative technologies. Contact Kinetix Solutions either by visiting the website www.kinetixsolutions.com or by phone at 855-4-TEK-NOW (855-483-5669) option 2.