{"id":59601,"date":"2022-11-04T09:19:39","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T01:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/version-2.com.sg\/?p=59601"},"modified":"2022-12-02T18:13:35","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T10:13:35","slug":"single-sign-on-vs-mfa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/version-2.com\/en\/2022\/11\/single-sign-on-vs-mfa\/","title":{"rendered":"Single Sign-On vs. MFA"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In today\u2019s world, security teams have to strike a delicate balance between intrusiveness and security. Employees are prone to password fatigue<\/a> when they have to remember numerous passwords and change them frequently. And even with those protocols in place, the mental burden it carries can push employees to reuse passwords and reduce their complexity, putting your company at risk of a data breach.<\/p>\n

The good news is there are easier ways to ensure security while streamlining the login process and minimizing employee disruption: SSO and MFA. But what\u2019s the difference between the two, and do they work better together?<\/p> \n

In this post, we\u2019ll explain how SSO and MFA work, delineate their similarities and differences, and explain how you can use them together to prevent unauthorized access and bolster your company\u2019s security posture.<\/p> \n

How Does Single Sign-On (SSO) Work?<\/h2> \n

Single sign-on<\/a>, or SSO, only requires a user to log in once to access multiple resources. In other words, users only have to learn and provide one global set of login credentials instead of remembering multiple passwords and typing them into every single application.<\/p> \n

On the back end, a company\u2019s identity vendor exchanges keys with all preconfigured apps or sites. Typically, this process is driven by Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML)<\/a>, which uses Extensible Markup Language (XML) certificates to verify the authentication. Once everything matches, the user is authenticated, and sites and apps are ready for their use.<\/p> \n

Employees favor SSO because of its user-friendliness and convenience. IT admins also benefit from SSO because it\u2019s usually implemented as part of a larger identity access management (IAM) solution, which allows them to monitor network, device, app, and server permissions simultaneously.<\/p> \n

How Does Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Work?<\/h2> \n

You might be familiar with 2FA<\/a>, but MFA takes 2FA to the next level. Whereas 2FA only requires two verification factors to log in, MFA<\/a> requires two or more.<\/p> \n

After someone enters their username and password, they are prompted to share multiple things they have \u2014 such as a token \u2014 or things they are, like a biometric factor. Some examples of these authentication factors<\/a> are codes received via SMS, security questions, time-based one-time passwords<\/a>, fingerprints, or retina scans.<\/p> \n

MFA is becoming more widely adopted because it makes hacking someone\u2019s username and password increasingly difficult. Even if an attacker can guess or intercept one verification method, they probably won\u2019t be able to crack several others.<\/p> \n

SSO vs. MFA<\/h2> \n

SSO and MFA have distinct similarities and differences that security teams should keep in mind as they build their authentication plan.<\/p> \n

Similarities<\/h3> \n