Many organizations protect logins with a username and password.  Entering these two pieces of information grants access to company databases, email accounts, and other sensitive information.  However, passwords are notoriously insecure.  Users tend to choose weak passwords which can be easily guessed or cracked.  Attackers routinely trick people into revealing their passwords and sniff insecure networks (i.e. coffee shops) to obtain passwords. Malware can capture passwords and send them over the network to attackers. Furthermore, it can be near impossible to tell who has access to your accounts, or even if anyone is accessing them illegally.  It has become clear that passwords are not enough for protecting important logins.

The best way to strengthen a login is to require a second factor after the username/password stage.  Two-factor authentication allows you to verify your identity using a second factor (i.e. phone, token, etc) in addition to providing your username and password when logging into your account. DePaul utilizes a two factor solution in order to add an extra layer of security to our community's data and it is required for all DePaul accounts.

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For more information about two factor authentication at DePaul, please click here.