MFA or 2FA?

Richard Marsden
September 30, 2023

If I were to name a second most important tool, which is as much a strategy as a tool, it would be MFA/2FA.

I have already discussed my number one cyber security tool for individuals, which I recommend for personal and professional purposes. If I were to name a second most important tool, which is as much a strategy as a tool, it would be MFA/2FA. First though, let’s define exactly what these both are:

2FA (Two-factor authentication) – Sometimes referred to as two-step verification or dual-factor authentication, is a security process in which users provide two different authentication factors to verify themselves.

MFA (Multi-factor authentication) – Uses two or more items for authentication of users, depending on factors such as device type, location (IP address), or other changes in how the user is accessing the app or platform they are trying to authenticate with.

An excellent example of when I experience MFA instead of the usual 2FA is when I try logging into my online banking platform when I’m on holiday. I enter my username and password (1FA); then (as usual) it sends me a text message with a code (2FA). However, because it notices I am in a different location (hopefully near a beach in Spain), it also asks me to click a link in an email they send to me to authenticate. So that is three types of authentication, or put simply – MFA.

MFA vs 2FA. So, two-factor authentication (2FA) requires users to present two types of authentication, while MFA requires users to present at least two, if not more, types of authentication. This means that all 2FA is an MFA, but not all MFA is a 2FA.

Our favourite MFA/2FA Tool

We have a couple of favourite tools to suggest to users for 2FA/MFA:

Authy – This is my personal favourite as it can be used on multiple devices, which includes your laptop/desktop, as well as iOS and Android, as expected.

Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator – For business purposes, it is easy to send your users to either of these authenticator tools, depending on whether you use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.