Telecommunications companies are in a high-risk sector for cyberattacks, making it critical to have tight security measures, such as identity authentication, in place. This added layer ensures your clients that they are protected while helping you verify and authenticate client information safely.
However, many identity authentication methods have room to improve. Businesses should address these inadequacies to ensure that their organization’s security measures are strong enough to reduce the risk of breaches. Here are some areas where you can improve your identity authentication methods as a telecommunications company.
6 Areas Where Telcos Could Improve Identity Authentication Methods
1: Password-only logins
By today’s standards, relying on passwords alone already puts you on the back foot. Skilled cybercriminals can gain access to accounts through various ways, such as social engineering methods, brute force attacks, and malware.
One type of social engineering attack, phishing, is often masked as a valid request for passwords. Password hacking tools are also available on the dark web. There’s a multitude of paths to get into a telecom system, and a password just isn’t enough protection.
To put things into perspective, 51% of users use the same password for both their personal and work accounts. This means if passwords are part of the authentication process, your users will have to do better by creating a stronger string of letters, numbers, and symbols. There are also better ways, such as adding more layers of protection through multi-factor authentication (MFA).
2: Facial biometric verification
Using your face as a biometric authentication method is one of the most widely used forms of identity authentication, made popular by smartphones. This process relies on the unique biological features of an individual. Apart from the face, other biometric authentication processes include fingerprint, palm, and eye scans.
3: Multi-factor authentication
It’s already been established that passwords aren’t enough to keep cyberattacks away. Try multi-factor authentication to secure your accounts. MFA adds layers of protection across requests like a security code sent to a customer’s email or confirmation on a linked phone. This may shoot down hacking attempts by adding a couple of steps to your login process.
4: Remote identity verification tools
Identity verification is fundamental to how businesses interact. And with the rest of the world shifting to a more digital landscape, consumers now expect to access goods and services anytime and anywhere.
However, this shift to digitalization can be challenging. It runs a higher risk of identity theft and fraud. A business like a telco should be able to secure and verify a user’s identity remotely and ease the customer process.
6: Identity proofing
Identity proofing ensures that an initially claimed identity matches the actual identity. Identity proofing in the telecom industry is integral because it has some of the most information-rich databases available, making it appealing to cyberattacks. Preservation and security play a significant role in keeping clients assured and businesses secured.
Today, identity proofing is the first line of defense against malicious and fraudulent attacks, which is why it’s essential to have an effective identity and access management (IAM) solutions protecting your systems.
6: Single sign-on (SSO)
Single sign-on is an authentication process that allows users to remain logged in to an account even when they move to a different server or domain. Organizations with varying products and services will benefit from this as they can offer their products and services on other websites.
However, for telcos, allowing users to remain logged in on their devices makes room for oversights. If an intruder has gained access to an authenticated SSO account, they can access all linked applications and systems. Furthermore, once SSO is enabled, control over the account’s security is decreased because it’s already authorized.
Updated Identity Authentication Methods Can Secure Business Data
Updating business IAM is essential to a solid security structure. As telecom companies continue to collect customer data and have permission to use it according to privacy laws, it is your obligation to give them peace of mind knowing that your organization can be trusted in handling their information.
By knowing where and how to improve IAM, you have the opportunity of strengthening your security against cyberattacks and customer relationships. To ensure extensive and robust safety, consult with our experts at Q5id. We offer highly effective identity proofing solutions that can help your business provide unparalleled data security for your clients.
