TL;DR
Data breaches are growing in both frequency and cost, making stronger authentication strategies essential. Context-based authentication enhances multi-factor authentication (MFA) by evaluating behavioral signals—like device, location, and login time—to distinguish normal access from suspicious activity. When implemented thoughtfully, it can reduce credential-based attacks, streamline the user experience, and support a passwordless future for organizations.
What is context-based authentication?
In the simplest terms, context-based authentication adds flexibility to MFA. It builds risk assessment capabilities into access decisions by analysing users' behavior and context, such as which device or network they're logging in from. If used successfully, it helps better protect your resources and enhances employee login experiences—finding that crucial balance between security and usability that most organizations strive for.
Why are traditional login methods falling short?
Six billion: that's the number of records stolen in the first nine months of 2019, a figure that led research firm Risk Based Security to name 2019 the worst year on record for data breaches. Worldwide, these breaches are also becoming more and more expensive, costing impacted organizations an average of $3.92 million, per estimates from the Ponemon Institute.
As data breaches increase in size and severity, businesses need to do more to keep pace with sophisticated bad actors and improve their security. A secret weapon that should exist in any organization's arsenal is context-based authentication, which helps to minimize and reduce exposure to potential risks.
How does context-based authentication level up your security?
Taking security to the next level with context-based authentication delivers three key benefits:
- Secure authentication for employees, partners, and customers that need access to various apps, systems, and devices—regardless of their location
- Simple deployment and maintenance for admins without impacting end-user productivity
- Intelligent security policies that limit identity challenges based on login context
These three factors allow organizations to better protect their data without hindering their workforce. To reach this goal, context-based authentication does two things:
How does context-based authentication establish a behavioral baseline?
By establishing a behavioral baseline, adaptive authentication makes it easier to understand what 'normal' looks like for each user. This includes insight into where, when, and from what device a user usually logs into certain servers or applications.
How does it respond to behavioral anomalies?
With a baseline established, context-based authentication works in the background to assess all logins against that baseline—scanning for any potential anomalies.
For example, access requests detected from unusual geographic locations, suspicious VPNs, or at a time when the user is usually inactive can be identified as high-risk requests that prompt for additional verification factors. As such, context-aware authentication processes enable businesses to prevent hackers from taking over user accounts and potentially compromising the organization as a whole.
How can you make the most of adaptive authentication?
There are a number of benefits to implementing context-based authentication. However, if implemented poorly, adaptive multi-factor authentication (MFA) can compromise user experience or leave fatal gaps in an organization's security defences. To avoid that, companies should consider these approaches to implementing context-based authentication policies.
- Think creatively: Assess multiple layers and signals (location, network, device) while keeping the solution unobtrusive to avoid excessive MFA prompts that hinder user experience.
- Go passwordless: Remove passwords as a factor and rely on biometrics or push notifications to simplify authentication and reduce the risk of credential attacks.
As large-scale data breaches continue to be the norm, it's imperative that businesses level-up their security. To reduce their risk exposure, they should consider protecting user identity by deploying context-based authentication policies across the organization's resources.
Frequently asked questions
What makes context-based authentication different from standard multi-factor authentication (MFA)?
Standard multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires additional verification steps for every login, regardless of circumstances. Context-based authentication adds intelligence to that process by evaluating behavioral signals—such as the user's device, location, and login time—and only triggering additional verification when something appears unusual or risky.
What kinds of signals does context-based authentication analyze?
It typically evaluates factors like the geographic location of the login request, the network being used (including whether it's a suspicious virtual private network (VPN)), the device being used, and the time of day relative to the user's normal activity patterns.
How does establishing a behavioral baseline improve security?
A behavioral baseline defines what 'normal' looks like for each individual user. Once that baseline is set, the system can flag deviations—such as a login from an unfamiliar country or an unusual hour—as potentially high-risk, prompting additional verification before granting access.
What are the risks of implementing adaptive authentication poorly?
If the solution is overly sensitive, it may trigger too many multi-factor authentication (MFA) prompts, frustrating users and reducing productivity. Conversely, if it's too permissive, it may leave security gaps that attackers can exploit. Striking the right balance between security and usability is critical.
How does going passwordless relate to context-based authentication?
Removing passwords from the authentication process simplifies how users interact with the system and reduces the risk of credential-based attacks. In a context-based authentication setup, biometric factors or push notifications can replace passwords, making the overall system both more secure and more user-friendly.
What types of organizations benefit most from context-based authentication?
Any organization that needs to provide secure access to employees, partners, and customers across multiple apps, systems, and devices—regardless of location—can benefit. It is especially valuable for businesses looking to reduce data breach risk without sacrificing workforce productivity.
