Microsoft Issues Security Warning on SMS Multi-Factor Authentication

Read the original article: Microsoft Issues Security Warning on SMS Multi-Factor Authentication


While multi-factor authentication, or MFA, has become an essential part of the security arsenal belonging to every single Internet user out there, there are parts of it that need to be abandoned.

And these are SMS and voice MFA, Microsoft warns, as they are based on publicly switched telephone networks, or PSTN, which can easily be abused to expose your data.

These are the least secure of the MFA methods available today, Alex Weinert, Director of Identity Security at Microsoft, says in a post, especially because they’re not adaptable to each user and the information is transmitted in the clear.

“One of the significant advantages of services is that we can adapt to user experience expectations, technical advances, and attacker behavior in real-time. Unfortunately, the SMS and voice formats aren’t adaptable, so…


Read the original article: Microsoft Issues Security Warning on SMS Multi-Factor Authentication