One change that will improve online account security by 99%

What is the most important change that can be made to secure online accounts? The short answer is multi-factor authentication (MFA). 

Online account security can seem overwhelming, especially when you're not sure who to trust. While security is a complex topic, multi-factor authentication is one change that will have a profound impact on online account security. In fact, Microsoft states that enabling multi-factor authentication will prevent 99.9% of attacks on accounts. 

What is multi-factor authentication? 

Multi-factor authentication, also known as two-factor authentication (2FA), is a process in which two or more verification methods are needed to login to an account. For example, someone using MFA might need to do the following to login to their account: 

1. Type in their password.
2. Type in a code that was sent to their phone number, email, or authenticator app.

Further reading: 

• One simple action you can take to prevent 99.9 percent of attacks on your accounts (microsoft.com)
• What is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and How Does it Work? (onelogin.com)