Jasmine Fulmore
CRIT 501
02/16/25
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). (2023).
Impact of multi-factor authentication on cybersecurity threats.
CISA examines the effectiveness of multi-factor authentication (MFA) in
mitigating cybersecurity threats. It provides an analysis of common
cyberattack methods, including phishing and credential stuffing, and how
MFA reduces their success rates. The report highlights best practices for
implementing MFA across various industries and discusses the challenges
organizations face when enforcing MFA policies. This source is valuable as it
offers government-backed insights into the importance of MFA in enhancing
cybersecurity resilience.
MIT. (2022). The challenges of multi-factor authentication: User fatigue and
resistance.
This study explores the psychological and behavioral challenges
associated with MFA adoption. It identifies key information contributing to
user resistance, including inconvenience, complexity, and fatigue caused by
frequent authentication requests. The research also presents potential
solutions, such as adaptive authentication and user-friendly MFA methods, to
improve compliance. This source is particularly useful in understanding the
human factors that influence the effectiveness of MFA, complementing the
technical insights provided by CISA.
Meyer, L. A., Romero, S., Bertoli, G., Burt, T., Weinert, A., & Lavista
Ferres, J. (2023). How effective is multifactor authentication at deterring
cyberattacks?
This investigates the effectiveness of multifactor authentication (MFA) in
protecting commercial accounts from unauthorized access, particularly those
with known credential leaks. The researchers found that MFA implementation
offers outstanding protection, with over 99.99% of MFA-enabled accounts
remaining secure during the investigation period. Additionally, MFA reduces
the risk of compromise by 99.22% across the entire population and by
98.56% in cases of leaked credentials. The study also highlights that
dedicated MFA applications, such as Microsoft Authenticator, outperform
SMS-based authentication, though both methods provide significantly
enhanced security compared to not using MFA. This source provides
empirical evidence supporting the adoption of MFA to enhance account
security.
Amft, S., Höltervennhoff, S., Huaman, N., Krause, A., Simko, L., Acar,
Y., & Fahl, S. (2023). "We've disabled MFA for you": An evaluation of the
security and usability of multi-factor authentication recovery deployments.
The research shown in this work evaluates the security and user
experience of multi-factor authentication (MFA) recovery procedures across
various websites. The authors conducted an in-depth investigation of 71
websites, analyzing their MFA recovery processes. Findings reveal that many
websites deploy insecure MFA recovery procedures, allowing circumvention
and disabling of MFA when accessing associated email addresses. The study
also notes discrepancies between official help pages and actual recovery
processes, indicating that user guidance is often incorrect or outdated. This
source is valuable for understanding the potential vulnerabilities in MFA
recovery implementations and emphasizes the need for secure and user-
friendly recovery procedures.
SC Media. (2024). The rise of phishing-resistant MFA and what it means for
a passwordless future.
This article discusses the increasing adoption of phishing-resistant multi-
factor authentication (MFA) methods, such as hardware keys and device-
based passkeys. It highlights that while the overall usage rate of MFA is
flattening at about 65%, the adoption rate of phishing-resistant forms nearly
doubled in 2023. The article emphasizes that these advanced MFA methods
not only enhance security but also improve user experience, potentially
accelerating the move towards a passwordless future. This source provides
insights into emerging trends in authentication technologies and their
implications for cybersecurity practices.
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). (n.d.).
Multifactor authentication.
This resource from CISA outlines the importance of multi-factor
authentication (MFA) in preventing unauthorized access to data and
applications. It explains that MFA requires users to provide multiple forms of
verification, such as passwords and security tokens, to confirm their identity.
The document emphasizes that users who enable MFA are significantly less
likely to get hacked, as even if one factor is compromised, additional layers
of security prevent unauthorized access. This source serves as a practical
guide for implementing MFA to enhance cybersecurity measures.
