Glossary · Information security
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
An authentication method that requires two or more independent factors to verify a user's identity.
Put the term into practice: ISMS software
Multi-factor authentication strengthens login security by combining factors from different categories: something you know such as a password, something you have such as a phone or token, and something you are such as a fingerprint.
Because an attacker would need to defeat more than one factor, MFA dramatically reduces the success of stolen-password attacks and is one of the highest-value security controls an organisation can deploy.
