Multifactor authentication is a layer of IT security meant to prevent cyberattackers from being able to access your accounts. It does this by sending one-time use codes to users’ phones every time they log in from an unfamiliar device. Therefore, even if an attacker has your password, they will not be able to access your account. Microsoft 365 is a service that uses this security feature.

On November 19^th, a malfunction of Microsoft’s Multifactor authentication servers caused real users of the Microsoft 365 Service to be locked out of their own accounts for 14 hours. Affected services included Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure, Dynamics, and other services that rely on the Azure directory.

The event affected users globally, in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

In a statement, Microsoft reported that the error was the result of 4 causes. Firstly, Microsoft states that the Multifactor Authentication (MFA) in Azure reached a capacity of users that lagged due to latency problems in its server.

The second cause is a backend process that compounded the issue of the latency experienced by the font-end of the MFA server. Microsoft has stated that these issues have been present since the November 2018 update of the software.

The third cause was the overload of the backend server, when no more requests could be processed by the system. And finally the fourth cause was the delay of identifying the other there causes, which allowed for the problem to escalate.

Microsoft provided a list of strategies that they will employ in light of the event in order to prevent it occurring again.

Firstly, it will more carefully monitor and manage its update cycles to ensure that its server health is always optimal. Further, they will improve their communication procedures with the service health dashboard, to ensure that incidents are reported effectively.

There are many advantages to using MFA, including reliability and ease-of-use. With many attackers now cracking passwords with brute force, our accounts are constantly under attack. With a 5 minute setup time, multifactor authentication is a great way of quickly and effectively securing your account. Despite this incident, MFA is still a staple to your IT security.

Our technicians at GigE can help your organization with any questions or setup that you may need regarding MFA and other tech issues. Contact us at 888 366 4443 now! You can also learn more about our cloud services here.

Company cybersecurity should be of upmost importance to any organization. Protecting sensitive data and client information is essential to building customer trust. A recent report conducted by the Centre for Internet Security (CIS) has found that many of today’s companies are neglecting simple cybersecurity practices. In the study, named “State of Cyber Hygiene Report”, over 300 Professional I.T. Technicians were surveyed to find out if organizations were adhering to 6 key cybersecurity avenues. Their results are as follows:

1 // Security management of company hardware

Inventory tracking of company hardware is essential to being able to detect suspicious devices that connect to your company’s network – an important part of company cybersecurity. If an attacker is able to connect a malicious device to the company’s server, they will have bypassed a critical aspect of the company’s cybersecurity wall.

The study discovered that a mere 29% of the studied companies keep inventories of 90%+ of their devices. Significantly, the survey discovered that more than half of the companies take between hours and months to discover unregistered devices on the company network.

2 // Security management of company software

Similarly to hardware management, software whitelisting allows for an organization to only allow authorized software to be installed on company-connected devices. The detection of any suspicious or unregistered software will result in an alert. Without this precaution, company computers could be running malicious software completely undetected.

With the proficiency of current-day malware, it only takes minutes of undetected connection for a malicious device to wreak havoc. However, CIS found that only 14% of organizations were able to detect new devices on their network in minutes, leaving the remaining 86% vulnerable to these devices.

3 // Ongoing assessment of vulnerable areas

Organizations should be continuously vigilant for new software vulnerabilities and react promptly in downloading relevant updates. Many historical cyberattack incidents were the result of companies neglecting to update their servers in time, making them vulnerable to threats that were in-fact patched out months before. It is recommended that companies adopt cycles of update-checks on the timeline of days and weeks, rather than months, in order to maximize security.

The study discovered that a majority (56%) of the companies have been keeping up with updates within one week, while the remainder of the companies took over a month to discover and deploy new updates.

4 // Limited administrative access

Administrative accounts have more control over an organization’s computers. Because of this, they are often a major target for cyberattackers. To counteract this, it is recommended that administrative computers are kept disconnected from sectors of the company’s network, to both minimize their vulnerability as well as their control. However, it was found that only 47% of companies are using this method to protect their administrative computers.

5 // Managed configuration environments for company devices

A common avenue for data breaches is a mistake during the set-up of software on new company systems. This is because configuration of these machines is often done in unsecure, unmonitored environments. To counteract this, it is important for the company server to scan for changes in software configuration on a minute-by-minute timeline. However, the study found that a mere 18% of companies were actually adhering to this recommendation.

6 // Ongoing monitoring of company event logs

Finally, it was deemed important for companies to continuously monitor logs of changes and digital activity. This allows for more efficient detection of suspicious or unregistered activity, which may be cause by cyberattack attempts. It was found that an astonishing 54% of studied organizations were not doing any log analysis on their network’s systems.

Strengthen your company cybersecurity and do not fall victim to cyberattack. Become informed and regularly practice these 6 critical cybersecurity measures. Our tech experts at GigE have years of cumulative experience designing, deploying and maintaining cybersecurity strategies. You can learn more about our IT security services here.

With our new 10-for-10 policy, we now offer ten minutes of professional consultation for only CAD$10. Call us at +1 888 366 4443 to get started now!