MFA, or multi-factor authentication, is an extra layer of security used to verify the identity of the person trying to gain access to an account. This could be anything from a thumbprint to a unique code texted to the individual and is a nearly ubiquitous feature across technology platforms these days. A lack of MFA on business email accounts or RDP (see above) can be a disaster. Usually through brute-force attacks (where criminals try multiple username and password combinations in quick succession) or through stolen credentials from the dark web (as so many people reuse username and password combinations), criminals can quickly gain access to business email accounts without this extra piece of security. This often results in funds transfer fraud losses where money is rerouted to fraudulent bank accounts, but it is also increasingly leading to ransomware events and major privacy breaches. For that reason, our cyber underwriters love when a business has MFA in use across all business email accounts and on other key business software too.