E-1
v1.3, March 2009
Appendix E
Two Factor Authentication
This appendix provides an overview of two factor authentication, and an example of how to
implement the WiKID solution.
This appendix contains the following sections:
•
“Why do I need Two-Factor Authentication?” on page E-1
•
“NETGEAR Two-Factor Authentication Solutions” on page E-2
Why do I need Two-Factor Authentication?
In today’s market, online identity theft and online fraud continue to be one of the fast-growing
cyber crime activities used by many unethical hackers and cyber criminals to steal digital assets for
financial gains. Many companies and corporations are losing millions of dollars and running into
risks of revealing their trade secrets and other proprietary information as the results of these cyber
crime activities. Security threats and hackers have becoming more sophisticated where user
names, encrypted passwords and the presence of firewalls are no longer enough to protect the
networks from being compromised. IT professionals and security experts have recognized the
need to go beyond the traditional authentication process by introducing and requiring additional
factors to the authentication process. NETGEAR has also recognized the need to provide more
than just a firewall to protect the networks. As part the new maintenance firmware release,
NETGEAR has implemented a more robust authentication system known as Two-Factor
Authentication (2FA or T-FA) on its SSL and IPSec VPN firewall product line to help address the
fast-growing network security issues.
What are the benefits of Two-Factor Authentication?
•
Stronger security
. Passwords cannot efficiently protect the corporate networks because
attackers can easily guess simple passwords or users cannot remember complex and unique
passwords. One-time passcode (OTP) strengthens and replaces the need to remember complex
password.
•
No need to replace existing hardware
. Two-Factor Authentication can be added to existing
NETGEAR products through via firmware upgrade.
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