Benefits of Phone Authentication

Evaluating two-factor authentication solutions requires a look at three critical areas – the security and scalability of the technology, hurdles to user adoption, and the total cost (including internal costs) to deploy and support the system. Phone-based authentication, particularly PhoneFactor’s phone authentication solutions, exceed in all three areas.

By leveraging something every user (employee, partner, and customer) already has, their phone, phone authentication works everywhere for everyone. With PhoneFactor’s phone authentication service, users simply login with their username and password – just like they do today. Instantly the user’s phone rings. They answer and press # (or enter a PIN) to complete their login.

By combining out-of-band authentication with real-time fraud alerts, PhoneFactor’s phone authentication service offers the strongest level of security on the market today. Phone authentication platforms generally rely exclusively on the telephone network for the second factor of authentication, which ensures protection against keystroke loggers and man-in-the-middle attacks. Phone authentication can be used to verify specific high-risk transactions, so even if the user’s authenticated session has been hijacked, their transactions are protected. Not only does PhoneFactor’s phone authentication service prevent unauthorized logins and transactions, it notifies you instantly if a user’s credentials have been compromised and an attack is in progress. Security tokens are simply not capable of alerting you to an attack.

Because there are no security tokens or other devices to deploy or manage and no software or certificates for end users to install, phone authentication requires very little effort to implement and virtually no ongoing support. PhoneFactor’s phone authentication service offers instant integration with all leading business systems and synchronizes with AD and LDAP Servers for centralized user management. Easy, automated self-service options are available through the phone and web, which helps to significantly minimize overhead.

PhoneFactor Phone Authentication Service

Technology	Out-of-band authentication with live fraud alerts Integration with leading enterprise systems Web plug-ins integrate with existing websites and online transaction processes User enrollment and self-service tools keep overhead low
User Adoption	Extremely easy – users simply answer their phone and press # Works with any phone, anywhere No changes to the user login experience No security tokens or extra devices to keep track of No software downloads or text messages to cell phones
Cost	Low annual fee per user or per auth No hardware to purchase or install No security tokens or devices to manage Users replace their own lost or damaged phones

PhoneFactor’s phone-based authentication service offers a greater level of security and a better user experience than security tokens. And, it’s significantly less expensive to deploy and maintain. For more information try the PhoneFactor Demo or Download the Free Version.