Two-Factor Authentication

Fortytwo’s Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) API allows you to add an additional layer of security to your users’ login credentials and limits the risk of fraudulent access to your website.

Using our API, you can verify the identity of your users by sending them a one-time password (OTP) and asking the user to confirm back the code received, ensuring that the user is the true holder of an account.

What is Two-Factor Authentication?

2FA is a deceptively simple security process which is used to confirm the identity of an authorised user, involving a combination of any two of the following identifiers:

• 

  Something the user knows
  password or PIN

• 

  Something the user has
  mobile phone, token or smart code

• 

  Something the user is
  biometrics, such as a fingerprint

In the case of Fortytwo’s 2FA solution – following the initial login with their username and password (something they know) – the user receives a verification code which is sent via SMS directly to their mobile phone (something they own) allowing users to verify their identity. The benefits for a company are two-fold, as 2FA not only validates the user’s identity, but also adds a secondary layer of security to the user’s account.

Why use Two-Factor Authentication?

With advances in technology, the simplest form of authentication combining both a username and password, may no longer protect your more sensitive resources. Your client’s passwords can be stolen or compromised through hacking techniques including phishing, keystroke logging and brute force.

Inadequate security may not only negatively affect your business, but can also put your clients at risk of unauthorised use of their personal online accounts, fraudulent payment transactions or undesired access to their bank account information.

By simply adding an additional layer of security to an existing login process, Fortytwo’s 2FA API significantly reduces the possibility of unauthorised individuals acquiring your client’s personal login details and compromising their accounts.

How does it work?

Fortytwo’s 2FA messaging solution generates dynamic one-time passwords (OTPs) to accurately authenticate users using a mobile phone.

• Your website captures the user’s credentials.
• Your website sends an authentication request to Fortytwo through our API which specifies the user’s pre-registered mobile phone number.
• Fortytwo process the request and send a one-time password to the user’s number via SMS.
• Your website prompts the user to input the code, triggering a validation request to Fortytwo.
• Fortytwo check the validity of the code and return a valid or invalid response.