Stay secure online with the latest on authentication techniques, best practices, and industry updates at the forefront of information security.
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Background for this topic.
Authentication confirms the identity of users or systems before granting access to resources, typically using factors like passwords (knowledge), hardware tokens (possession), or biometrics (inherence). It establishes trust boundaries that prevent unauthorized entities from impersonating legitimate users or devices within networks and applications.
Weak authentication enables attackers to perform account takeover, privilege escalation, or lateral movement by exploiting stolen credentials, phishing, or replay attacks. Deploying multi-factor authentication (MFA) with independent factors significantly reduces these risks. Secure credential storage, regular rotation, and monitoring authentication logs for anomalies are critical defenses to detect and block unauthorized access attempts early in the attack chain.
Microsoft is now testing WebAuthn API updates that add support for support for using third-party passkey providers for Windows 11 passwordless authentication. [...]
Microsoft has shared more details about the new Windows 11 administrator protection security feature, which is available in preview and uses Windows Hello authentication prompts to block access to critical system resources. [...]
A critical authentication bypass vulnerability has been discovered impacting the WordPress plugin 'Really Simple Security' (formerly 'Really Simple SSL'), including both free and Pro versions. [...]