Many businesses also deploy 2FA to control access to company networks and data. Employees may be required to enter an additional code to sign into the remote desktop software that allows them to connect to their work computers from outside the office.
Special Considerations
While 2FA does improve security, it is not foolproof. Hackers who acquire the authentication factors can still gain unauthorized access to accounts. Common ways to do so include phishing attacks, account recovery procedures, and malware.
Hackers can also intercept text messages used in 2FA. Critics argue that text messages are not a true form of 2FA since they are not something the user already has but rather something the user is sent, and the sending process is vulnerable. Instead, the critics argue that this process should be called two-step verification. Some companies, such as Google, use this term.3
Still, even two-step verification is more secure than password protection alone. Even stronger is multi-factor authentication, which requires more than two factors before account access will be granted.4