It is undisputed that Multifactor authentication (MFA) is one of the simplest and most effective ways to enhance account security. MFA brings in an additional layer of protection to help prevent unauthorized individuals from gaining access to systems or data. It’s no wonder all the cloud technology companies insist on it. In fact, AWS is

all set to mandate enabling MFA forits paid customers. A recent statement from AWS reads, “Beginning in mid-2024, customers signing in to the AWS Management Console with the root user of an AWS Organizations management account will be required to enable MFA to proceed. Customers who must enable MFA will be notified of the upcoming change through multiple channels, including a prompt when they sign in to the console.”

According to Microsoft’s Digital Defense Report 2023, Microsoft blocked an average of 4,000 password attacks per second targeting Microsoft cloud identities. The cloud giant synthesizes over 65 trillion signals every day using AI algorithms to understand and protect against digital threats and criminal cyber activity. A few months ago, Minister of State for Electronics and Information and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar informed the Parliament that India witnessed 13.91 Lakh cyber security incidents in 2022. As India continues to be on the top of the agenda of nation-state actors when it comes to cyber-attacks, it is essential that everyone adopts some form of MFA and additionally consider choosing forms of MFA that are phishing resistant, such as security keys. This yearly special issue delves deeper into the global MFA and cyber security landscape. Do let us know your thoughts.