SPOT Cybersecurity Tip: Why Every Business Needs Single Sign On

If you're a business owner, you probably recognize that you need cyber insurance. To get cyber insurance, you must implement certain cybersecurity controls within your business's IT environment. These controls can vary from carrier to carrier, but nearly all of them require Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

While MFA is awesome and is the single most important thing that you can do to improve your cybersecurity posture, there are some challenges with MFA.

• There's not an easy way to implement MFA across all of the areas in IT - Microsoft 365, Windows desktop login, Remote Desktop login, Client VPN login, administrative logins, and critical cloud apps, just to name a few.
• MFA by itself doesn't solve one of the biggest problems for users - Password Fatigue. Password Fatigue is a condition that occurs when trying to create, remember and use different complex passwords for each of our online accounts. This malady places undue stress not just on individual users but on organizations and security professionals striving to protect critical data and other assets.
• If MFA is configured properly across all of the different logins and services that a user uses within your organization, they will have press the YES button on their MFA app many times a day, potentially leading to MFA Fatigue. MFA fatigue, or when an attacker gets an authentic user to accept a request when that user is not trying to login, is an attack method that has made headlines.

Single Sign On to the Rescue!

Many business owners have a secret weapon at their disposal - Windows Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, and Microsoft 365. When properly configured, these identity services can be synchronized to allow users to use a single set of credentials to 1) Login to their computer, 2) Login to Microsoft 365 apps, and 3) Login to cloud apps that are SAML compliant.

The key to making this all work is Cisco Duo MFA. Duo MFA is the leading MFA service and is Fulcrum Group's preferred MFA service. Duo MFA allows you to protect just about any application or service that your users are logging into.

• Windows Desktop & Windows Remote Desktop login
• Microsoft 365 login
• Client VPN
• SAML Compliant Cloud Apps
• Administrative Login

The key to Duo MFA is that it uses Single Sign On so that users only have to remember a single set of credentials (what they login to their computer with) to login to most of their critical applications and systems. This reduces both Password Fatigue and MFA Fatigue. It also reduces the amount of time that users spend creating, entering, and managing passwords, saving companies on average almost $480 per user per year. For a 50 employee company, that amounts to $24,000, more than it would cost to implement Duo MFA and configure Single Sign On.

How Do You Get Started?

Step 1 is to sign up with Cisco Duo MFA service. It's relatively inexpensive, as low as $3 per user per month.

Step 2 is to configure Single Sign On. This is where you'll need to spend some upfront money. A typical Duo MFA Single Sign On project costs about $7500.

Step 3 is to identify which of your cloud applications are SAML compliant and can be configured to use your Microsoft 365 credentials.

Step 4 is add SAML compliance as a requirement for any new cloud applications that you are evaluating.

Deploying Cisco Duo MFA with Single Sign On can save your company thousands every year, while reducing your cybersecurity risk. It's a no-brainer. Reach out to us for more information on how you can implement Cisco Duo MFA and Single Sign On.