3 minBefore diving into what 2FA is and why you need to use 2FA, let’s take a step back to understand how much the world has been changed since the advent of the Internet.
What started as a US Department of Defense project (ARPANET) to network multiple computers, has transformed every part of daily life. From farming to banking, medicine to defense, there is virtually no aspect of our society that does not benefit in some way from the Internet. With more and more reliance on this wonderful innovation, the need for higher and better security has become paramount.
The importance of enabling 2fa – a real world example
Recently, I experienced first-hand how critical cybersecurity has become in our digital lives. After spotting numerous suspicious transactions on my banking app, I quickly reached out to the card company for support.
As it turns out, Steve Rogers (Captain America, for those not familiar with the popular Marvel superhero) has been using my credit card for online shopping from India. Being a huge Marvel fan, I did chuckle at the notion that Captain America was on a mission abroad and needed the funds.
Fortunately, I was able to alert the bank in time and the charges were removed from my account.
The point is that all of the security measures taken in this instance failed. One reason being that without websites being required to verify the identity of the requester of a secure service, ID theft is bound to occur.
One technology that is a step in the right direction is 2FA or two factor authentication.
What is 2FA
2FA or two-factor authentication, is a type of MFA. MFA in very simple terms requires that the user requesting access provide two or more pieces of information to an authentication service before successfully logging in. 2FA is MFA that requires only two factors. MFA is not a brand new concept. If you’ve ever used a debit card to buy groceries, you were likely required to enter your PIN. One factor is the card and the second is the PIN. It means that without possessing both, access cannot be granted. Period. This added level security makes it much tougher to gain access to your funds in this type of scenario. How does this relate to Domotz?
How 2FA works
Part of using the Domotz service is managing your account and agents from Portal. Whether you are only using Domotz for a couple of sites or a MSP with a much larger client base, the Portal lets you as the Team Master create Team Members and Field Operators that can be assigned to specific sites for management, installation, etc.
Tip: Learn more about the the different Domotz network monitoring software account types and their uses.
Enabling 2FA for your team means that a login to your user portal will require not just the user name and password, but a passcode that can only be obtained from a 3rd party authenticator app that would be installed on the user’s smartphone. Pretty painless if you ask me and all of the added security makes this a no-brainer. So how do you enable 2FA with Domotz?
How to Enable 2FA on Domotz?
Step 1 – Enable 2FA from the user Portal:
Go to Portal > Account > Two Factor Authentication > Toggle the switch > Enter your password
Step 2 – From there a QR code will be generated to be used with a 3rd party authenticator app such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator. The user has the option to select “Remember me” which allows them to log in from that same device without providing the code.
Pretty painless if you ask me and all the added security makes this a no-brainer. Well done!
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