Multifactor-authentication is becoming increasingly more important in a security stack.

What are drivers pushing MFA adoption? Well the WFH trend isn't going away, so as the traditional workspace continues to evolve, technologies like multifactor are important additions to a security stack. And it's a powerful addition at that. It's proven to be capable of blocking up to 99.9% of brute force attacks.

But, like with most cybersecurity tools, their effectiveness can be thwarted without team adoption. Why would users feel disdain towards MFA? Well, user experience, and complexity are noted as being the top barriers to adoption.

5 Tips to Drive MFA Adoption

1. Educate on the Why
   Part of any successful cybersecurity solution is cybersecurity culture and awareness. This allows end-users to understand that there is a reason for the madness. There's no beating around the bush - cybersecurity practices are often the conversation of balancing convenience and risk. Educating your team helps to build a cyber aware culture that will help to drive adoption of the tools you need, because they will understand the why.
2. Train
   Understanding how the tools will work, what applications will be impacted, and potential errors are all important facets to a successful MFA implementation. Each end-user will have their own technology savviness level - it's important to make sure that those who might struggle with adoption, have more training. Be sure to include FAQ's, how-to's, videos and any other supporting documentation that will be beneficial for people to reference.
3. Give Your Team Options
   No matter how you slice it, MFA is going to be an added step. Giving your teams different options for MFA helps to drive adoption. There are different types of MFA, like biometrics, security keys and apps. It's best to stay away from SMS as there are vulnerabilities in that form of MFA. Connectivity also plays a role, so if you have users that might not have internet access, OATH verification codes may be a better fit. So in your MFA planning, it's best to account for these things and offer a range of options to help increase your teams adoption. It's also important to consider management, so you don't want too diverse options that it's difficult to manage, so finding that balance is important.
   Identify your crown jewels, too! Make sure that you know what really needs MFA. Applying MFA where it is needed, and not overwhelmingly is important to improving adoption, as well.
4. Have a Support Plan
   Technology can be finicky. In your planning, make sure to have a plan for things that might come up. Failed sign-ins and lockouts can be  troubling for your team. Be sure to know how you will help if issues come up. Of course, one option is outsourcing this support to a managed service provider to effectively triage and fix anything that might come up. You'll also have supporting documents for end-users to reference if they get in a pinch. But try to arm your team with the necessary steps they'll need to take to help reduce the impact to their work.
   Another important aspect to think and plan about is lost devices. This can come up, so it's important to have that backup plan in place. We recommended registering more than one device so that if this comes up, your team member will have an additional means of authentication to help get them back to work, quickly.
5. Measure and Monitor
   Monitoring your rollout will be important. How are your users perceiving the technology? Is multifactor authentication impacting your users productivity? These two questions are important to ask your team. You can always adjust your policies as you implement and learn more about what tools your team are using, how they are using them, and what impacts they are having on your workforce. If you outsource MFA to a partner, they can also help you identify patterns by means of ticket auditing. Constantly improving your plans and policies will definitely help to improve your teams adoption, especially if they feel heard.

Has your team implemented MFA? If you have, we'd love to hear your feedback on your experience. Comment below or chat us.