Glossary: Modern Vulnerabilities, Malware and Physical Attacks

Multifactor authentication (MFA)

Also written: MFA, second factor

Signing in with more than one kind of proof, such as a password plus a code from a phone app. It means a stolen, watched or keylogged password is not enough on its own.

Where the book teaches it

Chapter 1: Rogue devices, shadow IT, low-power wireless and LLMs
Chapter 2: Identity providers, mobile devices, misconfiguration and public storage
Chapter 4: Malware, part 2: viruses, rootkits, keyloggers, logic bombs and fileless malware
Chapter 5: Physical attacks

Related terms

Number matching Passkey Hardware security key