Major South African law firm depends on MyID MFA to secure remote access
Webber Wentzel is a South African-based legal firm, that provides legal support to South African and international clients in relation to their operations in the rest of Africa. More of the firm’s 360 lawyers are working remotely, and clients also need access to sensitive documents and information from all around Africa - and the world.
THE CHALLENGE
The Webber Wentzel IT department have to provide access to information that is convenient, fast and reliable for all employees, partners and clients but also offers world-class security. “We simply can’t take any chances with security of documents,” explains Pierre Liddle, IT Information Security Risk Manager. “It would be devastating to our reputation if sensitive information was leaked or lost.” Webber Wentzel was keen to build an extranet that could be used to provide personalized remote access to corporate applications and data.
THE SOLUTION
The solution Intercede recommended for Webber Wentzel included the MyID MFA pattern authentication feature, a new 1.5 and 2 factor authentication system that uses Matrix Pattern Authentication to authenticate users. With the pattern authentication feature, users logging into an application don’t need passwords, tokens or PIN numbers. Instead, when they log in to the network, they are presented with a grid of colored squares, each containing a single digit.
The user must enter the numbers that correlate with a pattern that has previously been agreed as theirs. For example if a user’s chosen pattern is the six squares that cross a 6x6 matrix diagonally from top right to bottom left, then when they log in to the system, they enter whichever six numbers are in those squares. The complexity of the patterns which users are allowed to input can be defined by the IT department, and may be customized for different users, applications and locations.
This type of authentication is immeasurably more secure than a conventional PIN or password, and that is vitally important for a firm like Webber Wentzel. The pattern authentication feature is integrated seamlessly with Microsoft UAG, minimizing the need for integration and further improving security.
THE BENEFITS
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