Secure Your MS Office 365 with 2FA
Cybercrime is on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is especially dangerous for users of Microsoft Office 365 and Google G-Suite because a successful attack provides the criminals with access to the user’s email, contacts and cloud storage. As many users are relying on these platforms while working outside their offices, the wealth of information can be staggering. Theft of this information can be devastating to the victim and/or their business.
There are two predominant solutions to securing your data: strong passwords that are frequently changed AND two-factor-authentication.
The password solution is well known, well understood and unfortunately thoroughly hated by most users. People are intimidated by having to remember a multitude of passwords and don’t feel the need to frequently change them. I understand this and feel the same way! However, there is a solution – secure password managers. The two most popular solutions are LastPass.com and 1Password.com (I’m a LastPass user). These solutions allow you to securely store password information and adhere to zero-knowledge policy, so even if they are hacked your information will be safe. Not only do these solutions store your passwords securely, but they also make it easy for you to sign in to software and websites through browser add-ins and helper apps.
The two-factor-authentication (2FA) is a little more complicated, but a lot safer. It works by requiring the user to provide a second form of identity verification (usually involving a cellphone) when signing into a website or an application. Typically, this second form of identification is a code delivered via an SMS message or an authenticator app (sometimes voice authentication is also used). This is much more secure because it would require the criminals to have access to the user’s cellphone in addition to compromising their login credentials. While it may be a minor inconvenience to have to enter that code every time you login to your account, just think of the ramifications of your personal data being in the hands of some bad players.
We strongly suggest our clients configuring your Office 365 and G-Suite accounts to require 2FA. Please feel free to contact CDML for more information or to help you enable 2FA for your organization.
Important COVID-19 Updates
Our highest responsibility to clients is the delivery of reliable and one-shop computer services. That’s always important, but never more so than now as we navigate this unprecedented time together. Beyond that, we are committed to finding additional ways to help our clients efficient protect their server security remotely. Feel free to reach out and know more about our guidance towards WFH and server security.
