New research reflects the importance of updating authentication methods

Cyber-attacks are a major global threat – and in the UK specifically, 39% of businesses have reportedly experienced some form of attack in the last year.

Attacks on businesses, organisations and individuals can not only cause major damage to operations and put sensitive data at risk, but they can also have ramifications for industry reputations.

Yubico has released exclusive data in its inaugural State of Global Authentication survey which examines UK businesses’ cybersecurity practices and their employees’ understanding of general cyber-hygiene.

According to the survey, 49% of UK participants agreed that organisations need to upgrade to phishing-resistant multi factor authentication (MFA). However, organisations still rely on conventional, outdated methods to authenticate their digital accounts.

Respondents believed that these methods were the most secure ways to authenticate, however, all of them have proven to be susceptible to common cyber-attacks.

Niall McConachie, Regional Director (UK & Ireland), Yubico commented: “Concerningly, more than half of UK organisations are still relying on using usernames and passwords and other outdated authentication methods, according to our research.

“This, paired with poor basic cyber-hygiene practices, puts organisations at great risk of data breaches, ransomware attacks and phishing schemes.

“To effectively mitigate these types of attacks, UK businesses should implement passwordless cybersecurity such as strong two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA).

“By removing the need for passwords, strong 2FA and MFA are more user friendly and bridge the gap between personal and professional data security.”

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