Two-Factor Authentication, abbreviated as “2FA” for short, is a process through which an extra layer of personally-verifiable access control mechanism is embedded to your online account.
As much as people are benefiting from this technique, the results of a survey published recently by Pew Research revealed that more than half of the individuals quizzed were not familiar with 2FA.
Two-factor authentication ensures that attempts at intruding into your account can be waived altogether unless you personally approve each access request through an authenticator app.
Some examples of 2FA can include the following:-
- Something you personally know such as the answer to a secret question, frequently-used PIN number or a finger pattern.
- Something you possess such as the make of your smartphone or another object.
- Uniquely-identifiable information such as biometric pattern of a fingerprint, iris scan or a voice note.
Some other prominent takeaways from the Pew survey include the following:-
- Only 48% of respondents were aware about a “Privacy Policy”.
- Only 30% of respondents knew that a URL containing “https://” indicates access to an encrypted website.
- Only 25% of respondents were privy to the fact that accessing certain websites in “private browsing mode” still gives insight to their ISP or employer.
If you’d like to test your cyber awareness skills, click here to take the Pew Research Centre quiz.