Safety is the basic need for modern society. People tend to consider the protection of their personal data while using various software.
Technology is a part of our life. We use them for work, hobbies, and education. However, to use the most of web and mobile apps, customers have to give access to their personal information.
Garthers research claims that approximately 95% of web apps suffer from hacking attacks because of stolen passwords. So, the unique set of numbers can’t guarantee a reliable data protection level. As a result, a bunch of companies decide to improve their security.
In this guide, we’ll cover the basic methods of data protection along with types of authentication.
Top Four Data Security Methods to Use
Below you can find the four methods to increase the data security level. Using these approaches, you can offer your customers a higher level of data security.
- Set the password requirements. Good information security starts with memorable but complicated passwords. There are standards to follow in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Customers should have an eight-character minimum with letters and numbers. It’s better to offer users not to choose passwords like ‘12345678’ or ‘iloveyou’.
- Offer two-factor authentication. Of course, a secure password isn’t enough to protect the users’ data. It’s required to incision on two-factor authentication. It stands for the virtual version of the lock and the alarm system in your business. Let’s consider an example. To log in, you need an email and a password. After that, it’s required to put a six-digit code sent to your email or phone.
- Encrypt information. To protect all the information you’ve already collected, you should encrypt this data on devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets.
- Limit admit access. Admin access means access to all the data of your employees. However, it’s better to give access, depending on the employees’ responsibilities and needs. For example, the higher position your employee possesses, the more admin access there is.
Types of Authentication: Which to Use?
Let’s figure out the most popular authentication methods that are actively used to create an app, web or mobile.
- Password authentication. The simplest way to protect the data is to ask customers to choose complicated passwords. Such passwords should consist of capital letters and numbers. Also, they need to be long enough, at least eight characters. Each additional character increases the protection level.
- Two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication means for the virtual version of the lock and the alarm system in your business. Apart from the password required for authorization, it is necessary to have one more authentication factor like SMS with verification code, for example.
- Token authentication. Miracl replaces traditional passwords with the unique combination of PIN and token that builds a special M-pin cryptographic application. A set of numbers created this way deploys an authentication protocol with a zero-knowledge proof on its server.
- Biometric authentication. Biometrics is a great way to authorize users without involving any passwords or other kinds of authentication. This method of identity verification is based on the data that is unique to each individual. It unlocks the system with the help of fingerprints, voice patterns, iris scans, handwritten signatures, etc.
As you can see, there are a lot of solutions you can integrate to improve the security level. However, it may be rather problematic to decide on the authentication type. It’s common to choose the two-factor authentication, where the first factor is login/password and the second one of the solutions below:
Validation via SMS
Pros:
- Easy to integrate
Cons:
- The sim card can be easily falsified
- The user needs to spend money to receive the SMS
- SMS may fail to reach the destination in some countries
- A phone with a sim card is required
Validation by fingerprint or face recognition
Pros:
- Easy to integrate
- The system stores the finger scan on its own
Cons:
- Only available on devices with a finger scanner or face recognition technology
Validation by PIN
Pros:
- Easy to implement
- PIN is stored locally and may be different on various devices
Cons:
- There are some special aspects for storing the PIN
- Additional services may be required
As you can see, there are a variety of technologies that provide authentication security. To make the right choice, you should take into account the specifics of your business.
There were the basics of data security and types of authentication. You need to update your security level and increase data protection continuously. In this way, you can get your customers’ trust and loyalty.
