BIO-key Blog

More users and companies are running software applications in the cloud than ever before. When even the US Federal government is looking to get into the cloud, it's a clear indication that it has reached wide acceptance. Similarly, Identity as a Service (IDaaS) has been around for years, but how often do admins considering this approach bother to take a deeper dive into the issue of directory...

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Tags: Authentication, Authentication Methods, Authentication Security, Cloud SaaS, encryption, firewall, Identity Federation, IT Security, #security, Access Control, Access Management, Active Directory, User Authentication, VPN, OAuth 2.0, OAauth, IDaaS, directory synchronization

Hackers are the craftiest of fish. They nibble at your account day by day, trying 2 wrong password attempts and stopping before the 3^rd attempt locks your account. Then, they wait a day for you, the user, to log into your account and reset the password tries before they try to log in again. Think about how often you log into your most important accounts. Do you log in every day? Month? Less...

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Tags: Account Unlock, Centralized Authentication, #forgotpassword, Password, password reset, password strength, Access Control, account management, password best practices, password complexity, password expiration, Password Security, #phishing, Self-Service Password Reset, SSPR, secure login, hackers, login session, password history, SSO reduces login prompts for end-users, Web Authentication, end-users, password requirements, usual password, tailored authentication, hacked, username, Self-Service Account Unlock, wrong passwords, social media, Centralized Self-Service Password Reset

There is never a shortage of feature and enhancement requests from our customer base. These have been critical to ensuring PortalGuard's relevance in the authentication space so keep them coming! Features that make it into PortalGuard are either directly funded by a customer through our Tailored Authentication program or they are requested by multiple customers. For the latter case, these...

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Tags: Authentication Security, End user experience, MFA, Multi-Factor Authentication, PortalGuard, Access Control, Access Management, Active Directory, PortalGuard Configuration, PortalGuard for Education, PortalGuard Update, SOL-based directory, two-factor, Two-Factor Authentication, secure login, security risk, login session, mobile authentication, Biometrics, front-end login, voice biometrics, domain policy, fingerprint readers, enable 2fa, security compliance, features, voice recognition, tailored authentication, automatic delivery fallback/failover, web-key, bio-key

There is no shortage of hacking attempts out there today. With more and more people using computers and smartphones, hackers are coming up with different ways of stealing sensitive data and using some old tactics too! Continue reading to learn how to protect against keyloggers.

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Tags: Authentication, authentication management, Authentication Security, authentication security, #cyberattacks, #cybersecurity, I.T. Solutions, identity management, login security, Access Control, Access Management, Cyber Security, data breach, data security, password best practices, Password Security, Single-Factor Authentication, Single Sign-On, Single Sign-On (SSO), #singlesign-on, Two-Factor Authentication, #twofactor, increase security, password habits, secure passwords, challenge questions, layer of security, Single Sign Off, cyber aware generation, changing your password often, cyber aware, cyberbullying, teach cybersecurity, cyber predators, mobile authenticator, Modern SSO Protocols, cyberwarfare, essential cybersecurity, IT Management, maintain security privacy, maintain data privacy, keyloggers

Every year at the EDUCAUSE Conference the Top 10 IT Issues for the upcoming year are announced. Leading up to each conference a panel of experts ranging from IT leaders, CIO’s and faculty members present a list of the top IT trends. which are then voted on by EDUCAUSE members. The top initiatives are the most important topics and trends and will be a focus for the upcoming year. This year was...

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Tags: 2FA, Access Client, Account Unlock, attack surface reduction, Authentication, authentication management, Authentication Methods, Authentication Security, authentication security, #breach, checklist, Compliance, #cyberattacks, #cybersecurity, Education, Education Portals, email, encryption, End user experience, expiration, help desk calls, higher education, #HIPAA, I.T. Solutions, Identity Federation, identity management, Increase ROI, increased usability, information security, #infosec, Integration, IT Security, it security, #ITSecurity, K-12, login security, MFA, Multi-Factor Authentication, National Institute of Standards and Technology, network security, password reset, security questions, Access Control, Access Management, Access Point, account management, Active Directory, Application Security Testing, Authentication Provider, #breachnews, customer experience, Cyber Security, data breach, data security, Easy to Maintain Solutions, OTP, password alternatives, password encryption, Self-Service Password Reset, Single Sign-On, Two-Factor Authentication, healthcare, Students, single logout, increase security, EDUCAUSE, budgeting for education, student accounts, maintain security privacy, maintain data privacy

Another year and another batch of grey hairs for network security engineers tasked with keeping their organization's data safe and secure. For this article, we're going to narrow our focus to two specific types of attacks in cyber security: Password Spraying and Ransomware.

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Tags: 2FA, Authentication, Authentication Methods, Authentication Security, #cybersecurity, MFA, Multi-Factor Authentication, multilayer authentication, network security, Access Control, Access Management, account management, Authentication Provider, Cyber Security, office 365, #phishing, reCAPTCHA, secure authentication, password spraying, Ransomware, trending cybersecurity attacks, unlocking accounts, Rate-limiting, IP Lockout, corrupt data, Denial of Service, Account Lockout, account lockout protections, CAPTCHA, front-end login, image-based captcha, text-based captcha, ransomware attacks

Upgrading is always a top priority in the software industry.  Keeping vital software running smoothly and without issues is imperative to any industry with a digital presence.   With an authentication package like PortalGuard, up-to-date software also brings along new features and fixes for existing bugs or hiccups discovered along the way.  With that in mind, I am not surprised at the most...

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Tags: 2FA, Authentication, Authentication Methods, Authentication Security, authentication security, Centralized Authentication, #cybersecurity, MFA, Access Control, Access Management, Access Point, account management, Authentication Provider, Cyber Security, tech support, PortalGuard Authentication Provider, upgrades, PortalGuard Security Policy, PortalGuard Proxy, PortalGuard v6.2, Modern SSO Protocols, cybersecurity leaders, newest version, why upgrade

 

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is an important topic of discussion where security is of concern. Too many data breaches have occurred over the last 10 years purely because of lackadaisical security requirements. Many of these events would have been avoided with a proper Two-Factor Authentication system in place.  Security: personal, private, corporate – the list goes on and on. Each entry a...

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Tags: 2FA, #2FASolutions, contextual authentication, #contextualauthentication, #passwordmanagement, #security, security questions, #securityandusability, #selfservice, usability, User Experience, #2FA, #2ndfactor, Access Control, Access Management, account management, Password Synchronization, secure authentication, two-factor, Two-Factor Authentication, security trends, geolocation, layer of security, mobile authentication, mobile authenticator, Benefits of 2FA, one click, when you don't need 2FA

No one wants to be considered a weak link, even more so when it happens unknowingly. Everyone is staring at you, and you don’t know why. Well, not really, but imagine that’s what happens when you choose a low-quality password. You become your school's weak link. The difference is no one around you really knows it because it’s your secret and I.T. Administrators can’t identify you as a...

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Tags: 2FA, Authentication Security, authentication security, Banner, batch import, #cyberattacks, #cybersecurity, End user experience, higher education, password strength, strong password, #strongerauthentication, Access Control, Access Management, Active Directory, Authentication Provider, #breachnews, customer experience, Cyber Security, data breach, data security, Empower Up, #phishing, stronger authentication, stronger security, #strongpassword, Lanyard Login, teachers, Chrome Books, K-5, Special Education, Para Professionals, Students, Single Sign-On Options, increase security, security trends, secure login, PortalGuard Authentication Provider, Google Authenticator, classroom, OTP Methods, Portal Customization, empower users, stolen passwords, hackers, scams, weak link

 

 

Access control is simply controlling entry into a cyberspace as previously explained in this blog. For example, you have to have a password to access your Facebook account. This password requirement is access control. Without it, anybody could access your page and do whatever they wanted. This is primarily why cybersecurity exists…to prevent those who shouldn’t have access from getting...

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Tags: #contextualauthentication, #cybersecurity, Access Control