What is Two Factor Authentication & Why Is It Important in Membership Management

You’ve probably heard the term two-factor authentication or 2FA thrown around a lot lately. Maybe you’ve been quietly wondering what it even is, but haven’t wanted to ask. Well, if you don’t know, this short article will very simply explain what 2FA is and how it can help you. Also most importantly how Two Factor Authentication can really help you protect your member data.

Two-factor authentication is a lot like having your own superhero sidekick to watch your back. Like your own personal Robin, except 2FA isn’t a preteen. I mean seriously, batman. You have ALL of the money and you’re still using child labour? Batman’s questionable ethical choices aside, two-factor authentication is amazing. So let’s dive in. 

In this article, we will cover what 2FA is, why it is important, and why using 2FA with your club might be the right thing to do. 

What Is 2FA?

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a way to enhance the security of your online accounts. It does this by requiring two kinds of evidence (or factors) to verify your identity before granting access to an account or service. 

Normally, when you log in to a website or account, you enter your username and password. This password is one factor of authentication. For increased security, a second factor can be added to your login process. This means that if someone has your password, they cannot log in without the second factor. 

What Are Factors Of Authentication?

Factors of authentication are what you need to log in to a site or use a service. 

These factors fall into three categories:

Something you know

• passwords
• personal identification numbers (PINs)
• secret questions and answers

Something you have

• smartphones 
• hardware tokens
• smart cards

Biometric data

• Fingerprints
• facial recognition
• voice recognition

Usually, 2FA combines the first two categories: something you know and something you have. As an example, you may enter your password, and then be told to enter the pin number sent to your phone. This is 2FA. 

In most cases, you can set what your second factor is. You can choose from one-time codes sent to you via email or text, or a fingerprint scan on your smartphone.

Benefits Of Two-Factor Authentication

The benefit of using 2FA is the added security it provides. The sites you use often have important details about you, including your home address and bank account information. Having 2FA means that your information is secure even if someone was to get hold of your password. 

In this digital age, we have an increasing amount of important information on the websites we use. It also feels like new password and data leaks happen every other week. So, having that second layer of safety can be a great piece of mind. 

You Already Use Two-Factor Authentication

Whether you release it or not you have been using one form of two-factor authentication for years. You have possibly done it today. Whenever you buy something with your card and enter your pin, that is 2FA. You are using something you have, your card and something you know, your pin. 

That’s all it really boils down to, an added layer of security. 

How To Set Up Two-Factor Authentication

Setting up 2FA is usually a straightforward process. Most websites and services will have the option to turn on 2FA in their security settings. You may be asked to provide a mobile number or choose an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator. Once set up, you'll be asked to provide both factors to access your account at log-in. 

If you’re unsure of how to find two-factor authentication in a particular site's settings, google it. Google the name and add, how to turn on two-factor authentication. This should lead you straight to a how-to for that site. 

Why 2FA is Crucial for your Membership Club

We all know with the latest security breaches, there are lots of justified concerns in the general community about security. So it makes sense that when evaluating or using an online membership system for your club, security must be high on the priority list. Ensuring your membership administrators are using 2FA adds an extra layer of protection to your member data and helps protect unwanted access. Also you can provide your members additional peace of mind by offering them the option to turn it on and protect their own personal accounts as well. 

Two-Factor Authentication On Member Jungle

At Member Jungle, we have implemented 2FA as of 2023 for use on all our Member Jungle-run sites. Every club and organisation that manages its members through Member Jungle now has the option to use 2FA. 

Your club’s website has a lot of sensitive information about your members on it. You may have their banking details, address, contact information and more. Keeping their data secure is super important, the last thing you want is to be the cause of a data leak. Using 2FA can be a great way to help secure your and your members' valuable data. 

If you are the main administrator for your club, you can turn on 2FA for your club, so all your members will have access to it. As the main admin, you can also decide whether using 2FA is mandatory or optional. You can make this decision separately for your admins and your members. Meaning that you can turn on mandatory 2FA for admins but still allow your members to have a choice. This is a very simple process, as you can see from the below screenshot. 

 

 

Under the security tab of the website, you can adjust the 2FA settings with a few clicks of a button. 

Whether you choose to do this or not, your members will still have the option to use 2FA with your club site if they want to. To read more about setting up 2FA on your Member site check our support article Enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) for Members and Administrators