A recent audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed weaknesses in cybersecurity practices at various U.S. federal agencies.  Among the weaknesses cited is the lack of implementing two-factor authentication (2FA).

Twenty-two agencies reported problems in securing access controls, the controls used to protect computer resources from inappropriate access. (source)

The rate of 2FA adoption is surprisingly low, especially considering the amount of data, its sensitivity, and the high-profile breaches that have already occurred.

Even among so-called privileged users – those with access to government data, systems, and controls – the rate of adoption continues to lag. Barely half the largest Federal agencies have deployed strong authentication across 95 percent of privileged users, according to the White House annual report to Congress on the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). (source)

Not surprising is how effective implementing 2FA can be against hackers, and this was acknowledged in the report.

According [to] the White House annual report on FISMA, “more than half of Federal civilian cyber incidents were related to, or could have been prevented by, strong authentication.” (source)

Whether you are a government agency, not-for-profit, or any other organization, 2FA can be a strong means to protect your sensitive data and records.  With GreenRADIUS, implementing and maintaining a 2FA solution is simple and affordable.