The Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) is advising all businesses and organisations in Belgium to activate two-factor authentication as soon as possible. This measure is generally simple and inexpensive to implement. A small effort on the part of the organisation and its employees can make a big difference to your cyber security.

Every day in our country, at least one company falls victim to a ransomware or blackmail attack following the theft of sensitive information. An examination of these incidents reveals that cybercriminals often use stolen connection data to carry out their attack. These login credentials are often stolen using phishing messages or computer viruses that steal passwords from the browser.

The impact of a cyber attack is often considerable. The victim company can no longer ensure its day-to-day operations, loses crucial information, suffers significant damage to its reputation and sees its costs rise rapidly.

A large proportion of these cyber attacks can be avoided by using two-factor authentication (2FA) or multifactor authentication (MFA) for all remote company connections. This technique is based on the use of at least a second factor when employees connect remotely to the company network or to their work email inbox: for example, a password and a code generated on a smartphone. For remote access, make sure you always use a combination of at least two elements from among data that you know (a password, for example), that characterises you (facial recognition, for example) or that you possess (a smartphone/phone number, for example).

To find out how to implement the MFA.

Essential and uncomplicated

Two-factor authentication or MFA should be the first step on the road to a more secure environment, followed by other measures such as rapid security updates and regular offline back-ups. But take the first step today.

Together, let's fight cybercrime!