Security Beginner

What is Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)?

A security method requiring two different forms of identification before granting access to an account.

2FA combines something you know (password) with something you have (phone, hardware key) or something you are (biometrics). Even if a password is compromised, the second factor prevents unauthorized access.

Methods include TOTP apps (Google Authenticator, Authy), SMS codes (less secure due to SIM swapping), hardware keys (YubiKey), push notifications, and biometric factors. 2FA significantly reduces account compromise risk.

Related Terms

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

A strategy and set of tools that detect and prevent unauthorized transmission of sensitive data outside an organization.

CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery)

An attack that tricks authenticated users into submitting unwanted requests to a web application they are logged into.

Configuration entries that define which network traffic is allowed or blocked based on source, destination, port, and protocol.

A one-way function that converts input data into a fixed-size string of characters, used for data integrity and password storage.

SIEM (Security Information and Event Management)

A platform that collects, correlates, and analyzes security events from across an organization to detect threats and incidents.

A social engineering attack that uses fraudulent communications to trick people into revealing sensitive information or installing malware.

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