Tag: multifactor authentication

In today’s digital payments landscape, fraudsters are constantly developing new tactics to exploit vulnerabilities. One of the most common credit card schemes financial institutions and merchants face are BIN attacks. But what exactly is a BIN attack, and how does BIN attack fraud work? What is a BIN attack? BIN attacks, a type of card not present fraud, target the Bank Identification Number (BIN) ­— the first six to eight digits of a credit or debit card number that identify the issuing financial institution. Fraudsters use these digits to systematically generate and test potential card number combinations. The goal of a BIN attack is to discover valid card numbers that can be used for fraudulent transactions. Because BINs are publicly available and consistent across card issuers, they provide a predictable framework for attackers. How does it differ from other types of payment fraud? Payment fraud takes many forms, but BIN attacks stand apart because of their scale and automation. Card testing fraud vs. BIN attacks: Both involve criminals running authorization attempts to identify valid card details. However, card testing typically uses data from a single stolen card, while BIN attacks systematically generate thousands of possible card numbers from a known BIN range. Account takeover fraud vs. BIN attacks: In an account takeover, fraudsters gain access to a customer’s existing account, often through phishing or stolen login credentials. BIN attacks don’t require account access — instead, they exploit card number patterns to guess valid accounts. What are the consequences of a BIN attack? BIN attacks don’t just result in stolen card numbers — they create wide-ranging business risks that can impact operations, revenue and customer trust. For financial institutions and merchants, the ripple effects can be significant: High transaction volumes: BIN attacks are carried out using automated scripts or bots that fire off thousands of transaction attempts per minute. This traffic can overwhelm payment systems, slow down processing and disrupt the checkout experience for legitimate customers. Increased chargebacks: Once fraudsters identify valid cards, they make unauthorized purchases that often result in chargebacks. Both merchants and issuers absorb these losses — merchants lose revenue, while issuers reimburse cardholders. Network and processing costs: Every transaction attempt — even those declined during a BIN attack — still incurs network and processing fees. Merchants and issuers can end up paying for thousands of authorization requests, draining resources. Reputational damage: Today’s consumers expect seamless and secure payments. If they experience frequent declines, blocked cards or fraudulent activity, their trust in the institution or merchant erodes. How to protect against BIN attack fraud Mitigating BIN attacks requires a proactive, layered defense strategy. Financial institutions and merchants should consider: Advanced fraud detection and analytics: BIN attacks generate massive volumes of fraudulent traffic. By leveraging AI-driven analytics and machine learning, institutions and merchants can monitor for unusual transaction patterns, velocity spikes and bot-driven activity. Identity and device intelligence: Fraudsters often hide behind bots, stolen IP addresses and compromised devices. With identity verification and device intelligence solutions, merchants and institutions can better determine whether a transaction is coming from a legitimate customer or a fraudster testing card details. Multi-factor authentication (MFA): BIN attacks succeed on speed and automation, firing off thousands of transactions. MFA can help disrupt this process by requiring additional proof of identity from the customer, such as facial recognition or one-time passcodes. Credit card authentication: BIN attacks exploit the gap between payment credentials and the identity of the person using them. A solution like Experian LinkTM seamlessly connects the payment instrument with the digital identity presented for payment, helping merchants to reduce false declines, fraud and operating expenses. Build a stronger defense against BIN attacks BIN attacks are a growing threat in today’s digital payments ecosystem. But with the right safeguards in place, organizations can stay ahead. Learn how Experian can help you strengthen your fraud defenses to reduce losses and protect customer trust. Learn more

With cybersecurity threats on the rise, organizations are turning to token-based authentication as a secure and efficient solution to safeguard sensitive data and systems. Data breaches impacted 1.1 billion individuals in 2024, a staggering 490% increase from the previous year.1 Token-based authentication is a method of verifying a user's identity through digital tokens rather than traditional means such as passwords. These tokens are temporary and serve as access keys, allowing users to securely interact with systems, applications, and networks. The goal of token authentication is to strengthen security while improving the user experience. Instead of relying solely on static credentials (like passwords), which can be intercepted or stolen, leveraging a type of multi-factor authentication like tokens adds an additional layer of security by functioning as dynamic access credentials. How token-based authentication works Token authentication unfolds through a series of steps to ensure robust security. Here's a simplified breakdown of how it works in practice: User request and authentication: When a user attempts to log in, they provide their credentials (e.g., username and password). These credentials are verified by the authentication server. Token generation: After verifying the user's credentials, the server generates a token — a cryptographically secured string often containing information like the user's ID and permissions. Token sent to the user: The generated token is sent back to the user or their device to confirm authentication. Token usage for access: Now authenticated, the user uses the token to access the system or application. The token is passed along with each request to ensure the user is authorized to proceed. Token validation: Each time a token is presented to the server, its integrity and expiration are verified. If the token is valid, access is granted; if not, the session is terminated. Token expiration and renewal: Tokens are typically temporary and expire after a set period. Users must either re-authenticate or renew the token for continued access. This limits the time window during which a stolen token can be misused. Types of token authentication methods Token authentication comes in different forms to meet various use case requirements. Common types include: JSON Web Tokens (JWT) Lightweight, self-contained, and easily transferred between clients and servers, JWT is one of the most widely used token formats. It includes claims, which are bits of information about a user encoded within the token, such as roles and permissions. Example: A financial application uses JWTs to ensure only registered users can access private account data. OAuth tokens OAuth is an industry-standard authorization protocol that uses tokens to grant limited access to applications without revealing the user's credentials. It’s often used for third-party service integration. Example: When you log into an e-commerce platform using your Google credentials, OAuth tokens authorize access. Session tokens These are temporary tokens stored on the server to track authenticated sessions, commonly used in web applications to ensure secure browsing. Example: Online banking platforms rely on session tokens for secure user sessions. Refresh tokens Refresh tokens are designed to renew access tokens without requiring the user to log in repeatedly. They extend session durations while maintaining a high-security standard. Example: A subscription service app uses refresh tokens to maintain a seamless user experience without frequent logouts. Benefits of token-based authentication Token-based authentication offers several advantages that make it a preferred security measure for organizations of all sizes. Enhanced security: Tokens reduce the risk of breaches as they are temporary and encrypted. They’re also specific to sessions, applications, or devices, meaning unauthorized users cannot reuse stolen tokens effectively. Elimination of password reliance: Tokens reduce dependence on static passwords, which are often reused and susceptible to brute-force attacks. This bolsters an organization’s overall cybersecurity posture. Improved user experience: Token authentication allows for more seamless interactions by minimizing the need for repeated logins. With features like single sign-on (SSO), users enjoy convenient access to multiple platforms with a single token. Scalability: Tokens are flexible and can adapt to varied business use cases, making them ideal for organizations of all scales. For instance, application programming interfaces (APIs) and microservices can communicate securely via token exchanges. Supports compliance: Token-based authentication helps organizations meet regulatory compliance requirements by offering robust access control and audit trails. This is critical for industries like finance, healthcare, and e-commerce. Cost efficiency: While implementing token-based authentication may require an initial investment, it reduces long-term risks and costs associated with data breaches, system downtime, and customer trust. How Experian can help strengthen your authentication process At Experian, we recognize that strong security measures should never compromise the user experience. That's why we offer cutting-edge identity solutions tailored to meet the needs of organizations. Our tools allow you to integrate token-based authentication seamlessly into your systems while ensuring compliance with security best practices and industry regulations. Are you ready to take your business's security and user experience to the next level? Visit us online today. Learn more 12024-2025 Data Breach Response Guide, Experian, 2024. This article includes content created by an AI language model and is intended to provide general information.

This article was updated on April 23, 2024. Keeping your organization and consumers safe can be challenging as cybercriminals test new attack vectors and data breaches continually expose credentials. Instead of relying solely on usernames and passwords for user identity verification, adding extra security measures like multi-factor authentication can strengthen your defense. What is multi-factor authentication? Multi-factor authentication, or MFA, is a method of authenticating people using more than one type of identifier. Generally, you can put these identifiers into three categories based on the type of information: Something a person knows: Usernames, passwords, and personal information are common examples of identifiers from this category. Something a person has: These could include a phone, computer, card, badge, security key, or another type of physical device that someone possesses. Something a person is: Also called the inherence factor, these are intrinsic behaviors or qualities, such as a person's voice pattern, retina, or fingerprint. The key to MFA is it requires someone to use identifiers from different categories. For example, when you withdraw money from an ATM, you're using something you have (your ATM card or phone), and something you know (your PIN) or are (biometric data) to authenticate yourself. Common types of authenticators Organizations that want to implement multi-factor authentication can use different combinations of identifiers and authenticators. Some authenticator options include: One-time passwords: One-time passwords (OTPs) can be generated and sent to someone's mobile phone via text to confirm the person has the phone or via email. There are also security tokens and apps that can generate OTPs for authentication. (Something you know.) Knowledge-based authentication: Knowledge-based authentication (KBA) identity verification leverages the ability to verify account information or a payment card, “something you have,” by confirming some sequence of numbers from the account. (Something you know.) Security tokens: Devices that users plug into their phone or computer, or hold near the device, to authenticate themselves. (Something you have.) Biometric scans: These can include fingerprint and face scans from a mobile device, computer, or security token. (Something you are.) Why MFA is important It can be challenging to keep your users and employees from using weak passwords. And even if you enforce strict password requirements, you can't be sure they're not using the same password somewhere else or accidentally falling for a phishing attack. In short, if you want to protect users' data and your business from various types of attacks, such as account takeover fraud, synthetic identity fraud, and credential stuffing, you’ll need to require more than a username and password to authenticate users. That’s where MFA comes in. Because it uses a combination of elements to verify a consumer’s identity, if one of the required components in a transaction is missing or supplied incorrectly, the transaction won’t proceed. As a result, you can ensure you’re interacting with legitimate consumers and protect your organization from risk. LEARN MORE: Explore our fraud prevention solutions. How to provide a frictionless MFA experience While crucial to your organization, in-person and online identity verification shouldn’t create so much friction that legitimate consumers are driven away. Experian's 2023 U.S. Identity and Fraud Report found that 96 percent of consumers view OTPs as convenient identity verification solutions when opening a new account. An increasing number of consumers also view physical and behavioral biometrics as some of the most trustworthy recognition methods — 81 and 76 percent, respectively. To create a low friction MFA experience that consumers trust, you could let users choose from different MFA authentication options to secure their accounts. You can also create step-up rules that limit MFA requests to riskier situations — such as when a user logs in from a new device or places an unusually large order. To make the MFA experience even more seamless for consumers, consider adding automated identity verification (AIV) to your processes. Because AIV operates on advanced analytics and artificial intelligence, consumers can verify their identities within seconds without physical documentation, allowing for a quick, hassle-free verification experience. How Experian powers multi-factor authentication Experian offers various identity verification and risk-based authentication solutions that organizations can leverage to streamline and secure their operations, including: Experian’s CrossCore® Doc Capture confidently verifies identities using a fully supported end-to-end document verification service where consumers upload an image of a driver’s license, passport, or similar directly from their smartphone. Experian’s CrossCore Doc Capture adds another layer of security to document capture with a biometric component that enables the individual to upload a “selfie” that’s compared to the document image. Experian's OTP service uses additional verification checks and identity scoring to help prevent fraudsters from using a SIM swapping attack to get past an MFA check. Before sending the OTP, we verify that the number is linked to the consumer's name. We also review additional attributes, such as whether the number was recently ported and the account's tenure. Experian's Knowledge IQSM offers KBA with over 70 credit- and noncredit-based questions to help you engage in additional authentication for consumers when sufficiently robust data can be used to prompt a response that proves the person has something specific in their possession. You can even configure it to ask questions based on your internal data and phrase questions to match your brand's language. Learn more about how our multi-factor authentication solutions can help your organization verify consumer identities and mitigate fraud. Learn about our MFA solutions