PhoneFactor, Inc. is the leading provider of phone-based two-factor authentication solutions to companies worldwide. Founded in 2001, PhoneFactor provides strong authentication for government, healthcare, enterprise, banking, and website applications. By leveraging a device every user already has – a phone – PhoneFactor enables rapid deployment of cost-effective two-factor authentication.
Security and Simplicity Are Guiding Principles
From its inception, PhoneFactor has been driven by the belief that security and simplicity are intrinsically tied. The phone is the ideal tool to accomplish both. It provides the strong, out-of-band security that is critical to protecting against today’s threats as well as the simplicity afforded by the use of a ubiquitous device.
Security: PhoneFactor’s unique out-of-band authentication process protects against even the most sinister threats, including man-in-the-middle attacks and malware running on users’ systems. Security tokens (both software and hardware tokens) and most other authentication methods are vulnerable to these types of attacks. In fact, PhoneFactor is the only authentication platform that offers 100% out-of-band authentication via a phone call, text message, and phone app. In addition, real-time fraud alerts instantly notify you when a user’s credentials have been compromised and an attack is in progress.
PhoneFactor has achieved SAS 70 Type II Certification, demonstrating the company’s adherence to the rigorous requirements set forth by the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70. The certification underscores the security and reliability of the company’s two-factor authentication platform. The PhoneFactor service is supported by multiple redundant data centers and telecommunications providers ensuring the highest level of performance and availability.
Simplicity: PhoneFactor is designed to be easy for both end users and IT administrators. Users already know how to use the phone, so no training is required. Users have access to their phone virtually all of the time, so they aren’t burdened with carrying an extra device or not having the device when they need it. One customer’s recent survey of their users revealed that 94% preferred PhoneFactor to security tokens. This translates into increased use of the protected systems and reduced calls into corporate help desks.
The PhoneFactor platform combines a robust suite of user management, enrollment and integration tools with a high-scale hosted service that places authentication calls, sends text messages, and communicates requests to the phone app. PhoneFactor offers instant integration with all leading enterprise applications and seamlessly integrates with existing websites and online transaction processes. Self-enrollment and management tools streamline user deployment and support. This greatly simplifies the set up and management process for IT departments.
Industry Leadership
The PhoneFactor service was recognized in 2011, 2010, and 2008 as an SC Magazine Awards Finalist for Best Multi- and Second-Factor Solution and received a prestigious five star rating in the magazine’s 2011 Multi-Factor Group Test. PhoneFactor was awarded the 2010 Product Innovation Award and the 2009 Reader’s Trust Award for Best in Out-of-Band Authentication from Network Products Guide. The company was also recognized with two 2009 Gartner reports, Cool Vendors in Identity & Access Management and Cool Vendors in Healthcare Providers, and was named to the Bank Technology News FutureNow list of the top 10 technology innovators securing the banking industry today.
PhoneFactor is trusted by thousands of leading organizations to secure millions of logins and online transactions each year. In addition to offering unparalleled security, PhoneFactor is a cost effective and user-friendly alternative to security tokens, which had previously dominated the two-factor market. The phone-based authentication market, led by PhoneFactor, is expected to largely replace tokens particularly in organizations where security and simplicity are primary concerns.
