What is two-factor authentication? We explain it

Two-factor authentication describes a method of IT security that has been used for several years. It involves requiring a user to provide two independent proofs of identity before allowing access to certain functions or information. You may be familiar with two-factor authentication from ATMs or your online banking account, for example.

What two-factor authentication means

Although you may not be familiar with the term two-factor authentication, you often use this method in your everyday life without realizing it. With two-factor authentication, you always have to provide two different proofs of identity before you are allowed to access information or functions. Two-factor authentication is a simple and inexpensive way to secure data from unauthorized access and is therefore commonly used on websites, in apps, and even in the analog world.

Here's how you use two-factor authentication in everyday life

• ATMs: If you want to withdraw money or check your account balance at the ATM, you always have to identify yourself with two independent factors. These are the bank card and the secret code.
• Online banking: Even with online banking, two factors are always requested. These are the access data with which you log in and the TAN with which you have to verify individual procedures.
• Apps with location query: Some apps use location data as a factor to prove identity. The user receives certain information then only if he is within certain coordinates and has created an account in the corresponding app.