In today’s digital age, multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a critical security measure to protect your online accounts. MFA is an extra layer of security that requires more than just a username and password to log in.
Is MFA as secure as we think? And can it be hacked? This blog post will look at how MFA bypass attempts work and how to prevent MFA from being hacked.
What is MFA?
(MFA) Multi-Factor Authentication is a procedure where users have to deliver two or more extra factors of authentication to compromise an account. Safer than conventional single-factor authentications, MFA demands one group of login credentials, often including your username and password.
However, some versions require physical presence when you sign into something online, like the Google Authenticator app on iPhone or iPad devices and other variations for various services offered.
Ways hackers use for bypassing MFA to gain access.
Below are the top approaches cybercriminals exploit to bypass MFA.
Social engineering
Social engineering is tricking people into disclosing confidential details that can be used against them in cyber attacks. It’s one the most common methods used by hackers who have already compromised your username or passwords, or both, to get around extra authentication facets like two-factor verification codes or personal equations based on things they know about you.
Cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to compromise other people’s accounts, and one of the most typical techniques they use is phishing.
A cybercriminal acts as an email sender with whom you have interacted regularly (i.e., company X), tricking people into disclosing sensitive details or clicking malware-infested links in emails sent from this supposed reputable source.
MFA bypass attacks aren’t possible because they would require too much time during work hours, which wouldn’t be feasible given how many jobs there aren’t enough hours in the day. The next best thing we can do is make it harder for hackers to harvest our data, and that’s where two-factor authentication comes into play.
Cybercriminals are always looking for new ways to bypass Multi-Factor Authentication, and they recently came up with an interesting technique. Employers often provide their employees access credentials needed to log into company services like SaaS vendors’ websites or apps on smartphones before starting work each day.
But not all people take these precautions when it comes time to input a passcode during login attempts. Hackers may try convincing you by sending out emails requesting verification codes from anyone who received this sort of notice about possible account takeover fraud.
Which can quickly happen if your workers need to read more carefully. This can make your internal network vulnerable to unauthorized access by people who shouldn’t be logging in, like cyber thieves.
Consent phishing attack
With (OAuth) Open Authorization, third-party apps can ask for admission and permissions to your Google account without asking for the password or full login details. This way, you don’t have to worry about giving out sensitive information when it’s unnecessary.
The hackers can act as simple OAuth login pages and ask for any level of permit they require from a user logs. The hacker successfully bypasses MFA protection verification if granted these permissions, enabling them to take over your account entirely.
Brute force
Hackers use various methods to get past traditional username and password authentication factor, including Brute Force, one of the most challenging MFA bypass techniques. By testing multiple mixtures until they find one that works, which can take hours or days, depending on how complex your passwords are, hackers may be able to gain entrance into an account with just this single technique.
MFA solutions don’t always stand up well against these types of attack strategies because it relies more heavily upon having strong underlying principles protecting all aspects and components involved in creating secure accounts rather than simply relying on individually relative safety measures such as two-factor authentication (e.g., using a password and an SMS text one-time code sent to your phone).
Exploiting tokens
There are many ways to prevent account takeovers. That can be difficult if they get lost because you won’t know what password was used on their website. One of the most popular methods nowadays is through authentication apps, such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator, which spawn momentary tokens for use when logging in.
The cybercriminals might not either; by printing out this list and saving it securely anywhere digital (i.e., pdf), there’s potential information about victims’ accounts that could end up compromised without even knowing it.
To avoid this, one good way is to use recovery codes. Recovery codes are a set of randomly generated strings that you can set in your account settings that are different for each site or service you log into.
A cybercriminal will not know what recovery codes a user sets for different sites and services. If they ever lose access to the authentication app or get their phone (or computer) stolen, they’ll still be able to log into their accounts with the recovery codes.
Session hijacking
Session cookies and push notifications are essential in user interactions on web services. They allow users to easily log into an online account once their authentication credentials are stored beforehand. Session hijacking occurs when a cybercriminal compromises your login session through a man-in-the-middle attack.
However, MFA push notifications don’t mean you’re safe from being hacked. Attackers can also steal these sensitive bits of information if sent over HTTP instead because most people don’t bother checking whether site owners utilize secure connections ( HTTPS ) and safe multiple push notifications. We recommend only doing this if necessary, especially since there are a few cases where HTTPS is required.
SIM hacking
Hackers can charge victims for things they never asked to buy with their phone bill. Hackers use many techniques, such as taking over the victim’s number or getting into their account by any means necessary (hijacking WiFi connections). This is called SIM hacking, and it’s pretty standard.
Once inside your network, security doesn’t matter anymore because you’re nobody in this world when dealing directly with criminals who only care about making money off people like us.
How to prevent multi-factor authentication hacking
Avoid using short, numerical passwords where feasible. Use a more extended alphanumeric mix with lower, upper, and sign characters that are more difficult to break.
Biometric authentication attempts should be used as at least one aspect of your defense. It’s much more difficult to evade a thumbprint than four digit code or something else simple like passwords stored in cleartext on websites or not stored and emailed to you when you forget yours.
Biometric authentication involves scanning a person’s physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, eye retina, facial features, etc., to verify their identity. This authentication method is gaining more popularity because it’s challenging to bypass.
It’s more secure than a simple password or OTP, which can be stolen and used to access an account. For example, if someone has your username and password but not your fingerprint, they won’t be able to log in to your account, even if they have physical access to your phone or other devices with the fingerprint scanner.
It is crucial to evade SMS-based authentication factors where feasible. It has been shown that secure MFA codes are one of the most effortlessly compromised 2FA techniques, so it’s best practice for an organization or individual who wants two-factor protection on their account(s), such as LinkedIn User Management Solutions (Lums).
All dealers should have a server restricting how often unsuccessful login attempts occur. This way, if someone does try compromising your information via social engineering techniques like sending fake emails offering discounts around holiday times, then there will only be limited impacts because you have locked them out temporarily.
Conclusion
So, can Multi-Factor Authentication be bypassed? The answer is yes. But there are ways to prevent it from being hacked. Check our website for more information on how to protect your account with Multi-Factor Authentication and other security measures. Thanks for reading.
