Security of Multifactor Authentication Model to Improve Authentication Systems

Abstract

Multifactor authentication (MFA) is a security system in which more than one form of authentication is implemented to verify the legitimacy of a transaction. The goal of MFA is to create a layered defense and make it more difficult for an unauthorized person to access a computer system or network. Multifactor authentication is achieved by combining two or three independent credentials: what the user knows (knowledge-based authentication), what the user has (security token or smart card) and what the user is (biometric verification). Single-factor authentication (SFA), in contrast, only requires knowledge the user possesses. Although password-based authentication is well-suited for website or application access, it is not secure enough for online financial transactions.

Keywords: authentication , multi-factor-authentication , biometric factor, knowledge factor . possession factor