NETGEAR UTM5EW-100NAS, STM150EW-100NAS manual Why Do I Need Two-Factor Authentication?, 644

F.Two-Factor Authentication

F

This appendix provides an overview of two-factor authentication, and an example of how to implement the WiKID solution. This appendix contains the following sections:

•Why Do I Need Two-Factor Authentication?

•NETGEAR Two-Factor Authentication Solutions

Why Do I Need Two-Factor Authentication?

•What Are the Benefits of Two-Factor Authentication?

•What Is Two-Factor Authentication?

In today’s market, online identity theft and online fraud continue to be one of the fast-growing cybercrime activities used by many unethical hackers and cybercriminals to steal digital assets for financial gains. Many companies and corporations are losing millions of dollars and running into risks of revealing their trade secrets and other proprietary information as a result of these cybercrime activities. Security threats and hackers have become more sophisticated, and user names, encrypted passwords, and the presence of firewalls are no longer enough to protect the networks from being compromised. IT professionals and security experts have recognized the need to go beyond the traditional authentication process by introducing and requiring additional factors in the authentication process. NETGEAR has also recognized the need to provide more than just a firewall to protect the networks. NETGEAR has implemented a more robust authentication system known as two-factor authentication (2FA or T-FA) to help address the fast-growing network security issues.

What Are the Benefits of Two-Factor Authentication?

•Stronger security. Passwords cannot efficiently protect the corporate networks because attackers can easily guess simple passwords or users cannot remember complex and unique passwords. One-time passcode (OTP) strengthens and replaces the need to remember complex password.

•No need to replace existing hardware. Two-factor authentication can be added to existing NETGEAR products through a firmware upgrade.

•Quick to deploy and manage. The WiKID solution integrates seamlessly with the NETGEAR SSL and VPN firewall products.

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