3 Steps to Maintain Total Data Visibility

We live in an era where data is progressively becoming the essential and the only fuel for thriving business success. And the rapidly growing volumes of data have raised several security concerns that can’t be overlooked. Though managing the in-house data stored locally wasn’t really a tough nut to crack, cloud computing has made data visibility and monitoring a more significant dilemma.

Undoubtedly, cloud monitoring is trickier than monitoring local data centers and private cloud environments, since the sheer volume of data from diverse sources can’t be easily monitored to derive valuable insights.

Hence, today’s security leaders should put their best foot forward to improve data security and enhance overall efficiency by following best data visibility practices. Let’s have a look at some of these fruitful practices.

What Is Data Visibility? Why Is It Important?

Before we inch towards understanding the aspects of data visibility best practices, let’s first understand what data visibility is.

Data visibility can be defined as the ease of monitoring, analyzing, and displaying data from different sources. Gaining data visibility within an organization is quite beneficial for multiple reasons since the gathered data can be easily used to make more informed business decisions.

Moreover, data visibility helps organizations improve capacity planning and identify the risks associated with data thefts and security breaches.

Apart from this, data visibility and monitoring also help remove network performance-related issues that further prevent application outages.

How to Maintain Total Data Visibility in Your Organization

Now that we understand what data visibility is and what its significance is, let’s look at three ways to maintain data visibility of business data.

1. Real-Time Data Reporting

Most legacy systems and programs are designed to deliver monthly or annual reports that offer valuable insights regarding the performance of the data stored in diverse areas.

However, reporting and analytics should be real-time since your business collects, processes, and stores data in real time.

A reliable analytics system can be deployed on your cloud servers to monitor data storage and provide real-time details related to data access to ensure your data isn’t in the wrong hands.

Once a business has complete control over data stored in different areas, it helps create winning strategies to ensure that consumer data is secure and organized.

2. Robust System

Admit it: The more users, the more data storage there will be, and hence the slower the systems will be.

The market is flooded with several reporting systems that work flawlessly for multiple users, but there’s a catch. Most of them weren’t designed in a way to meet the ever-surging needs of enterprises.

So, the need for a robust system increases quickly. Businesses must consider deploying a modern data analytics solution that seamlessly accommodates company-wide use systems and multiple end-user devices, including mobile, tablets, and laptops.

This would surely help in fetching better insights from data without hampering the overall user experience since the system is designed to scale even if the demand increases automatically.

3. Third-Party Tools

Unlike in-house deployment, enterprises can leverage third-party tools that can offer the deepest data visibility, which helps information security professionals to track every movement of their sensitive data, including business information and consumers’ details.

A number of tools can help organizations secure and monitor data stored on local servers or in the cloud and eventually report the IT administrators regarding any unauthorized access or movement of data in real time.

Moreover, these tools also offer protection against malware and other malicious attacks to ensure the highest level of security.

Final Thoughts

In a digitally advanced world where security breaches are becoming more common and sensitive information is being distributed across multiple servers, total visibility over the enterprise’s data becomes the need of the hour.

Since a small loophole may compromise crucial information, businesses should immediately consider choosing a reliable system or third-party tool that keeps track of data stored in diverse locations.

The ones relying on robust security systems can always ensure maximum security for their consumer data and their organization’s critical information.

The aspects mentioned above can help businesses secure their data and ensure their sensitive information isn’t compromised during storage and transit.

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Originally published at Dataversity

3 Steps to Maintain Total Data Visibility - DATAVERSITY

Maintaining data visibility should be the biggest priority for any business embarking on a journey to secure data storage for the cloud.

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In-Store Tracking: Is It A Threat To Consumer Privacy?

The amount of data/information collected by retailers is anticipated to surpass 175 zettabytes by 2025, according to Deloitte. With this much data being collected, the complications from even a fraction of this data and information being leaked or compromised by cybercriminals are severe.

Today, cybercrimes have increased to unprecedented levels. As digital crimes surpass a 600% increase, Deloitte warned that a single security incident that exposes even 5% of a retailer's data and information could result in complications such as $5 billion to $10 billion in civil fines apart from recovery costs and any other legal complications, in accordance with the CCPA. Retailers must implement safe data-collection measures that do not violate shoppers' privacy and do not pose any implications in the case of a data breach.

Implications Of Using In-Store Tracking Platforms

The tracking of retail shoppers is increasing at a rapid pace as retailers continue to leverage advanced tracking and monitoring technologies to record and study the behaviors of shoppers. Face analysis software, in-store high-tech cameras and sensors equipped with facial recognition technologies, as well as smart tracking systems that capture the voices of shoppers and track their geo-locations are some of the methods by which major retailers are capturing and tracking consumer behavior analytics and data.

Retailers using such tracking technologies to capture consumers' data usually justify the in-store customer tracking and data/information collection by giving reasons like:

• Learning more about the needs and wants of the shoppers.

• Understanding the behaviors of shoppers in order to develop more personalized and intimate relationships with them.

• Tailoring a customized/individualized shopping experience according to the preferences of each shopper.

• Enhancing the service delivery experience.

• Making the store operations more efficient.

In-store data and information collection may benefit retailers in many ways. However, the growing consumer privacy concerns as well as tightening privacy laws and regulations are posing a myriad of complications for retailers. A past Forrester survey that Quartz referenced (subscription required) revealed that roughly half of the respondents reported they would discontinue shopping in stores that track their behaviors. Deloitte also found that 55% of shoppers believe that retail stores are selling their data/information to third parties. The study also revealed that not all shoppers are tech-savvy and understand how retail stores use advanced technologies to track their behaviors and collect their data. This results in violating many data/privacy laws and regulations, as the collection of some data and information requires the consent of the individuals.

Many retailers also lack transparency about what type and how much data and information is being collected from shoppers and how it is being used. Lack of privacy policies, personalized marketing and notifications, lack of data/information usage transparency and other similar aspects can cause many implications for retailers.

Examples of such implications can include:

• Loss of customers' trust.

• Declining in-store shoppers' rate.

• Loss of revenue.

• Legal complications and fines by regulatory authorities.

• Reputation damage.

Key Data And Privacy Tips For Safer Data Collection

Retailers need to implement a comprehensive data protection strategy that includes appointing internal cybersecurity representatives, training employees across departments, vetting third-party partners, safely transferring data and deleting unnecessary consumer data. Here are some key tips for retailers to implement safer data collection.

• Secure payment methods. Setting standards and conventions for payment methods and third-party suppliers is essential for businesses. Due to the fact that customer payment information is regularly the target of data breaches in the retail business, retail firms are implementing more secure payment systems.

• Default encryption in transit and at rest. Data in transit, such as between a server and a mobile phone, is vulnerable to retail security hazards. Using data encryption, the data is protected while traveling and can only be decrypted at the endpoint with the decryption key. A delicate balance must be struck between privacy and simplicity of use while using encrypted data.

• Mandatory security training. Employees might also be the source of a data breach. Security training is often lacking in the workplace due to carelessness in the handling of sensitive data, team member incompetence and/or laziness. Customers' credit card data should likewise be restricted to employees, and employees should not be providing financial information via email. Additionally, corporations need to incorporate cybersecurity awareness into the culture of their organizations in order to avoid common threats like phishing emails.

• Enforce zero-trust security. Employees need to be verified, authorized and continuously evaluated for security configuration and posture before being permitted access to apps and data. As a result, a zero-trust architecture necessitates constant user and device monitoring and verification to ensure that the proper privileges and attributes are being used. Aside from that, retailers must periodically check on their staff members regarding how they handle file data and avoid malware. Moreover, employees should have limited access to websites outside of their everyday activities in order to reduce the risk of allowing a hacker to gain access.

As data/privacy laws and regulations become more strict and consumer-focused, retailers must implement fair and anonymous modes of data/information collection that do not raise privacy concerns and do not creep out the shoppers. Today's internet users are more aware and concerned about their data and privacy; therefore, retailers must respect shoppers' privacy and must cultivate a data-safe environment to boost business profitability and consumer loyalty.

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Originally published at Forbes

Council Post: In-Store Tracking: Is It A Threat To Consumer Privacy?

The tracking of retail shoppers is increasing at a rapid pace.

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Cookie-based vs. Cookieless Authentication: Whats the Future?

Securing communications between a client and a server often requires credentials to identify both parties. That is where the different authentication techniques comes in. Two popular authentication methods are cookie-based and cookieless authentication. However, choosing any one of them depends on the organization's requirements. Both come with their benefits and challenges. This article will give a quick walkthrough of cookie-based and cookieless authentication along with their advantages and disadvantages.

What is Cookie-based Authentication?

Cookies are pieces of data used to identify the user and their preferences. The browser returns the cookie to the server every time the page is requested. Specific cookies like HTTP cookies are used to perform cookie-based authentication to maintain the session for each user.

The entire cookie-based authentication works in the following manner:

1. The user gives a username and password at the time of login. Once the user fills in the login form, the browser (client) sends a login request to the server.

The server verifies the user by querying the user data. If the authentication request is valid, the server generates the following:

• A session by utilizing the user information
• A unique ID, known as the session IDThe server then passes the session ID to the browser that keeps it. The server also keeps track of the active sessions.

1. The browser has to submit this generated session ID while sending a subsequent request. Every time the server validates the session ID. The session ID helps the authentication process identify the user and provides access accordingly.
2. When the user logs out of the application, the session gets destroyed from both client (browser) and the server. It discontinues the authentication process from happening again through the respective session ID.

Benefits of Cookie-based Authentication

• Availability: In cookies-based authentication, cookies can be made available for an extended period, maintaining a session for a long time.
• Easy Configuration: Websites can deliver cookies by configuring them as per requirement. For example, a website can send cookies that will expire as the users close the browser tab. It is also possible to configure cookies for a specified length of time on the client-side.
• User-friendly: Cookie-based authentications are simple, and the cookies used in this method are user-friendly. Users can choose what to do with cookie files that have kept user credentials. All modern browsers come with settings to clear the cookies. Users can find cookies in the hard drive and delete them manually.

Challenges of Cookie-based Authentication

• Vulnerable to CSRF: Cookie-based authentications are prone to Cross-site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks. Hence, they often require additional security postures for protection.
• Less Mobile-friendly: Cookie-based authentication does not work well with all native applications.
• Limitations: There are certain limitations and concerns such as size limit (not more than 4KB of information per cookie), browser limitations on cookies, user privacy, etc., come with cookies and cookie-based authentication.
• Less Scalable: Cookie-based authentication is less scalable, and the overhead rises when the user count increases on a particular site.

What is Cookieless Authentication?

Cookieless authentication, also known as token-based authentication, is a technique that leverages JSON web tokens (JWT) instead of cookies to authenticate a user. It uses a protocol that creates encrypted security tokens. These tokens allow the user to verify their identity. In return, the users receive a unique access token to perform the authentication. The token contains information about user identities and transmits it securely between the server and client. The entire cookieless authentication works in the following manner:

1. The user logs into the service by providing their login credentials. It issues an access request from the client-side by sending the credential and API key (public key) to the application server.
2. The server verifies the login credentials that checks the password entered against the username. Once approved, the server will generate a unique session token that will help authorize subsequent actions.
3. This access token is sent back to the client via URL query strings, post request body, or other means. The server-generated signed authentication token gets assigned with an expiration time.
4. The token gets transmitted back to the user's browser. On every subsequent request to the application server or future website visits, the access token gets added to the authorization header along with the public key. If there is a match from the application server against the private key, the user can proceed. If a given token expires, a new token gets generated as an authentication request.

Benefits of Cookieless Authentication

• Scalable and Efficient: In cookieless authentication, the tokens remain stored on the user's end. The server only needs to sign the authentication token once on successful login. That makes the entire technique scalable and allows maintaining more users on an application at once without any hassle.
• Better Performance: Cookie-based authentication requires the server to perform an authentication lookup every time the user requests a page. You can eliminate the round-trips with tokens through the cookieless authentication technique. In cookieless authentication, the access token and the public key are added to the authorization header on every page request.
• Robust Security: Since cookieless authentication leverages tokens like JWT (stateless), only a private key (used to create the authentication token) can validate it when received at the server-side.
• Seamless Across Devices: Cookieless authentication works well with all native applications. Tokens are much easier to implement on iOS, Android, IoT devices, and distributed systems, making the authentication system seamless.
• Expiration Time: Usually, tokens get generated with an expiration time, after which they become invalid. Then a new token needs to be obtained for reauthentication. If a token gets leaked, the potential damage becomes much smaller due to its short lifespan.

Challenges with Cookieless Authentication

• Single-key Token: One of the significant challenges with cookieless authentication is that these access tokens rely on just one key. Tokens that use JWT leverages a single key for authentication. If the developers/administrators handle the key poorly, it can lead to severe consequences that can compromise sensitive information.
• Data Overhead: Storing a lot of data increases the overall size of the token. It slows down the request impacting the overall loading speed. This slowing down ultimately hampers the user experience. Thus proper development practices need to be followed, regulating minimum but essential data into the token.
• Vulnerable to XSS and CSRF: Cookieless authentications are susceptible to XSS and CSRF attacks. So, the best practice is to have a short expiration time for access tokens. Keeping a longer expiration time might allow the attackers to hijack the access token and use it to gain unauthorized authentication.

How does LoginRadius have Native Support for Cookieless Authentication?

LoginRadius provides multiple methods to implement a cookieless login workflow leveraging industry and security best practices. As a consumer-centric Identity platform, LoginRadius ensures that modern implementation methodologies comply with the changing security landscape. The cookieless authentication workflows detailed below are systems that LoginRadius has developed support for even before the recent browser-based privacy policies and are a core part of the LoginRadius platform.

LoginRadius APIs

The LoginRadius API has been architected and designed to function as a cookieless authentication system. Once authentication occurs, a session token gets returned to the requesting client in the form of an access token which can be leveraged to take further authorized actions against the Consumer account. It is a core part of the LoginRadius authentication workflows, and APIs developed based on Oauth 2.0 protocols.

These APIs provide flexibility in generating access tokens based on consumer authentication requests and are automatically validated and signed leveraging the LoginRadius API Key and Secret. Detailed API documentation is available here.

JSON Web Tokens

In addition to the LoginRadius APIs, JWTs are a standard method to handle cookieless login. Once authentication is completed and verified, a signed token can be generated(leveraging LoginRadius APIs) to pass the consumer session to the client.

JWTs are a standard industry mechanism leveraged by various service providers and tools, making them ideal for interoperability with multiple applications. Find additional details on how to use JWT as part of your authentication workflows here.

Additional Options

In addition to the above two options, LoginRadius provides flexibility and support for various authentication and authorization standards that support a cookieless authentication approach. Outbound authentication workflows such as OIDC and Oauth 2.0 allow for a modern standardized approach to authentication.

These are industry-recognized and recommended authentication and authorization protocols that comply with security and privacy best practices, including supporting a cookieless authentication approach. Check out our dedicated documentation on outbound workflows.

Conclusion

Cookieless authentication can facilitate more secure and scalable authentication. You should decide how to authenticate consumers considering your requirements and the benefits and challenges of cookie-based and cookieless authentication.

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Originally published at LoginRadius

Cookie-based vs. Cookieless Authentication: What’s the Future?

Understand how cookie-based and cookieless authentication methods work. And learn their major differences, advantages, and disadvantages.

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Understanding PII Compliance: A Key to Enterprise Data Security

When you visit a website, it may store some basic information about you, such as your IP address, the operating system on your computer, the browser you use, ISP used to connect, location, screen resolution, etc. Some websites store login cookies on your computer, so you don't have to log in every time you visit them.

But this is not all. When browsing online, you also leave enough breadcrumbs for websites and web applications to identify you.

We often talk about personally identifiable information (PII), but few users know precisely what it is.

Besides, there are many ways to manage personal information. Having said that, it is one thing when you protect your PII from potential exploitation, and it's entirely different when a third party manages it for you.

So, let us take a deep dive to discover the term personally identifiable information or PII.

What is Personally Identifiable Information

Data that helps identify a specific individual is called personally identifiable information, or PII in short. For example, your social security number is a good example of** **PII Compliance because it is unique, and the number itself will lead someone to find you directly.

In addition to this, your full name, driver's license ID, email address, bank account information, password, or phone number can also be considered personally identifiable information.

PII has a principal role in network security, especially when it comes to data breaches and identity theft. For example, if a company that manages personal information encounters a data breach, its customers will likely suffer personal identity theft because the company-managed data will be stolen.

The information related to this is stored with online marketers and brokers who trade your data to various companies that "want to show you appropriate ads" and provide you with an "improved user experience."

Key takeaways

• Personally identifiable information (PII) can identify a person when used alone or with other relevant data.
• Confidential identifying information can include your full name, social security number, driver's license, financial information, and medical records.
• Non-confidential personally identifiable information is easily accessible from public sources and may include your zip code, race, gender, and date of birth.

Importance of PII Compliance

Advanced technology platforms have changed the way companies operate, government legislation, and personal contact. With the help of digital tools such as mobile phones, the Internet, e-commerce, and social media, the supply of all kinds of data has surged.

Such data is collected, analyzed, and processed by enterprises and shared with other companies. The large amount of information enables companies to gain insights into how to better interact with customers.

However, the emergence of big data has also increased the number of data breaches and cyberattacks by entities that realize the value of this information. As a result, people are concerned about how companies handle sensitive information about their customers. Regulators are seeking new laws to protect consumer data, and users are looking for more anonymous ways to stay digital.

Protection of Personally Identifiable Information

Many countries/regions have adopted multiple data protection laws like the GDPR, CCPA to create guidelines for companies collecting, storing, and sharing customers' personal information. Some basic principles outlined in these laws stipulate that certain sensitive information should not be collected except in extreme circumstances.

In addition, the regulatory guidelines also stipulate that if the data is no longer needed for its intended purpose, it should be deleted, and personal information should not be shared with sources whose protection cannot be guaranteed. Moreover, supervision and protection of personally identifiable information may become a significant issue for individuals, companies, and governments in the coming years.

Selling the stolen data

Cybercriminals compromise data systems to access PII and then sell it to buyers willing to buy in the underground digital market. For example, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the US suffered a data breach that resulted in the theft of the personally identifiable information of more than 100,000 taxpayers. Criminals used quasi-information stolen from multiple sources to access the IRS website application by answering personal verification questions that should belong only to taxpayers.

Adopting PII compliance

Without considering the type or size of any company, all organizations must have some detailed and comprehensive knowledge of PII compliance it collects and how it can be utilized. The companies must have legal knowledge about which among the various country and state regulations related to PII is applied to some specific situation related to them. Also, it is important to consider that adopting acceptable use of privacy policies associated with this particular data can be advantageous.

Conclusion

The security of personal identity and other details is at increasing risk today, with hackers finding new ways to hack into websites. Therefore, enterprises of all sizes must maintain PII compliance to protect the information of the company and its users. With PII compliance, businesses can maintain improved data security.

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Originally Published at LoginRadius

Understanding PII for Enterprise Data Security

PII Compliance is a highly valuable asset for any enterprise that needs to be protected. Read to understand the need for PII compliance in today’s advanced world.

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DNS Cache Poisoning: Why Is It Dangerous for Your Business

What is DNS Cache Poisoning

DNS cache poisoning, also known as DNS spoofing, is a cyber-attack that exploits the weaknesses in the Domain Name System (DNS) servers. It enables the attacker to poison the data in DNS servers, including your company server, by providing false information to your internet traffic and diverting it to fake servers. This is done by redirecting the data in DNS to their IP address.

DNS cache poisoning utilizes the vulnerabilities in the DNS protocols' security to divert internet traffic away from legitimate servers to the wrong address.

DNS cache poisoning is effectively used for phishing attacks, often referred to as Pharming, for spreading malware. In the background, the malware runs and connects with legitimate servers to steal sensitive information.

When the DNS server is attacked, users may be requested to login into their accounts, and the attacker finds its way to steal the sensitive and financial credentials.

Moreover, phishing attacks also install viruses on the client's computer to exploit the stored data for long-term access.

How Does DNS Cache Poisoning Works

DNS spoofing is a threat that copies the legitimate server destinations to divert the domain's traffic. Ignorant of these attacks, the users are redirected to malicious websites, which results in insensitive and personal data being leaked.

It is a method of attack where your DNS server is tricked into saving a fake DNS entry. This will make the DNS server recall a fake site for you, thereby posing a threat to vital information stored on your server or computer.

The cache poisoning codes are often found in URLs sent through spam emails. These emails are sent to prompt users to click on the URL, which infects their computer.

When the computer is poisoned, it will divert you to a fake IP address that looks like a real thing. This way, the threats are injected into your systems as well.

What Are the Different Stages of Attack of DNS Cache Poisoning

• First Stage

The attacker proceeds to send DNS queries to the DNS resolver, which forwards the Root/TLD authoritative DNS server request and awaits an answer.

• Second Stage

The attacker overloads the DNS with poisoned responses that contain several IP addresses of the malicious website.

To be accepted by the DNS resolver, the attacker's response should match a port number and the query ID field before the DNS response.

Also, the attackers can force its response to increase their chance of success.

• Third Stage

If you are a legitimate user who queries this DNS resolver, you will get a poisoned response from the cache, and you will be automatically redirected to the malicious website.

How to Detect DNS Cache Poisoning

Now that we know what is DNS cache poisoning let's understand how to detect it.

One way is to monitor the DNS server for any change in behavior patterns. Also, you can apply data security to DNS monitoring.

Another way is to look for a potential birthday attack. This occurs when there is a sudden increase in DNS activity from a single source in a single domain. When there is an increase in the DNS activity from a single source, querying your DNS server for multiple domain names without recurring shows that the attacker is looking for a DNS entry for poisoning.

Monitor the file system behavior and active directory events for any abnormal activities. You can use analytics for correlating activities among three vectors to add important information to your cybersecurity strategy.

Why Is DNS Cache Poisoning Dangerous for Your Business

When the DNS server is poisoned, it will start spreading towards other DNS servers and home routers. Computers that lookup DNS entries will get the wrong response by causing more users to end up as victims of DNS poisoning.

This issue will be resolved only when the poisoned DNS cache is cleared on each affected DNS server; you are at risk of losing your precious information until then.

One of the major reasons DNS cache poisoning is highly dangerous is that it can spread from one DNS server to another.

Here are a few DNS poisoning attack examples-

A DNS poisoning event had resulted in the Great Firewall of China's temporary escape from China's national borders by censoring the internet in the USA till the problem was resolved.

Recently, attackers targeted WikiLeaks, who used a DNS Cache poisoning attack for hijacking traffic to their WikiLeaks-like version. This intentional attack was created to divert the traffic away from WikiLeaks and was implemented successfully.

How To Protect Against DNS Cache Poisoning

For DNS server providers and website owners

If you are a DNS service provider or a website owner, you have a huge responsibility for safeguarding your users by using various tools and protocols to manage the threats.

Some of the resources we have specified will help you in this regard.

• Just like endpoint user security products, you can proactively use DNS spoofing detection tools to scan before you send or receive the data.
• Using DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions) helps to keep DNS lookup fool-proof and authentic.
• You can use end-to-end encryption to send DNS requests and replies. Hackers will not be able to duplicate the unique security certificate that is present on the legitimate website.

For endpoint users

To avoid making your users vulnerable to a DNS poisoning attack, you can use the specified tips.

• Do not click on the links that you don't recognize; these include text messages, emails, or social media links. To be safe, you can opt for entering the URL manually in the address bar.
• Regularly scan your computer for any malware. Your security software will help and remove any secondary infections. As the poisoned sites deliver malicious programs, you need to scan for spyware, viruses, or any other hidden issues.
• Flush your DNS cache to solve the problem of poisoning. Nevertheless, cache poisoning remains in your system for a long time until you clean the infected area.
• Use the virtual private network (VPN), a service that offers an encrypted tunnel for your web traffic. You can use a private DNS service exclusively for end-to-end encrypted requests; as a result, your servers are tougher against DNS spoofing.

Final Thoughts

DNS cache poisoning can be summarised as an attacker controlling the DNS server to send fake DNS responses. As a result, when the user visits the counterfeit domains, they will be directed to a new IP address selected by the hacker.

This new IP address might be from a malicious phishing website, where the users are prompted to download malware, or they might be asked to provide their financial or login details.

Hence, understanding what is DNS cache poisoning, how to detect it, and ways to prevent it is crucial so you can protect your business against it.

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Originally published at LoginRadius

Why DNS Cache Poisoning is Dangerous for Your Business

Read this blog to understand what is dns cache poisoning and what should organizations do to avoid this cyberattack.

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How to Set Up Two-factor Authentication on All Your Online Accounts

How to set up 2FA on your accounts? And why is it important in the first place? As social media is becoming increasingly popular, security is becoming something of supreme importance.

Even though choosing a strong password helps you in certain ways, by adopting 2FA, you can improve and enhance security further. So, let's know more about this extra layer of protection and how to set up 2FA on your accounts.

First stop.

What is Two-Factor Authentication

2FA is one of the best security methods that use two layers to verify a consumer's identity. This means, rather than simply entering the password to log into an account, two-factor authentication requires a code to be sent via text message to the consumer's phone number or generated through an app.

This type of verification code helps and ensures that only the authorized consumer can access their account. Similarly, multi-factor authentication (MFA) offers two or more authentication layers to approve account access for consumers.

What is Authenticator Apps

Authenticator apps are meant to be installed on your smartphones to obtain passcodes to sign in to your accounts. They are intended to be more secure than texting; they provide flexibility if you are traveling to a place where there is no mobile service.

Some of the options include Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator Authy, or HDE OTP.

All these apps follow the same procedure - when you are adding a new user account, you need to scan a QR code associated with the account, and it is saved in the app.

The next time you sign in to your app or service, it will ask for a numerical code. You need to open up the authenticator app and check the randomly generated authentication code to access your account securely.

How to Set up 2FA on Your Social Media Accounts

A lot of applications offer 2FA currently, especially if you are storing important and sensitive data, financial information, emails, social media, files, contact details, etc.

2FA needs more than one factor to login. This might include parameters like "something you are," for example, biometrics in the form of iris scan or fingerprints, "something you know," a password, and "something you have," like a smartphone or hardware key.

Find out how to set up 2FA on your accounts:

1. Google

If you want to set up an authenticator on the Google account, first you need to download the Google Authenticator app available on the Play Store. Once downloaded, do the following:

• Go to Gmail and click the profile icon.
• Choose My account and click on Sign-in & Security.

You can add the two-step verification process here.

Source: Google

2. Snapchat

To set up 2FA on your Snapchat account, you will need to:

• Go to the app’s main camera screen and tap on the profile icon.
• Find the gear icon to access Settings.
• Tap on Two-Factor Authentication and choose whether to obtain verification via a text message or an authenticator app.

You can add trusted devices or request a recovery code for when you intend to be somewhere without cellular coverage once 2FA has been activated on your Snapchat account. Safety key logins do not currently appear to be supported by Snapchat.

3. Whatsapp

To set up 2FA on your WhatsApp account, you will need to:

• Open WhatsApp on your device.
• Under the upper-right hamburger icon, find the Settings menu.
• Go to Look under Account > Two-step verification > Allow.
• You will be prompted to end a six-digit PIN to verify your account. If you forget your PIN, you can optionally add an email address.

Source: lifewire

It is important to have an associated email with your WhatsApp account as the service will not allow you to reverify yourself if you have used WhatsApp and forgotten your PIN within the last seven days.

4. Outlook

To set up 2FA on your Outlook account, you will need to:

• Sign in to your Outlook account.
• Click on your name and then click View Account.
• Under the Basic Options, click on the link that says Explore more security options.

If you have not set up 2FA yet, you can click on the link and proceed with that. You can switch to Microsoft Authenticator by clicking the Set up identity verification app if you already have it.

5. Facebook

To set up 2FA on your Facebook account, you will need to:

• Sign in to your Facebook account.
• Click on Settings and choose Security and Login.
• Check for the use of two-factor authentication in the Setting Up Extra Security section.
• Enable the code generator.

You can also use the Facebook mobile app for approving sign-ins on the web or set up a third-party authentication app for generating codes.

Source: Facebook

6. Twitter

To set up 2FA on your Twitter account, you will need to:

• Sign in to your Twitter account.
• Click on your Profile Icon and then click Settings and Privacy.
• Click the checkbox next to Verify login requests, under the Security heading.
• Verify your mobile number and then click Set up a code generator app.
• Scan the QR code with the third-party authenticator app.

7. Apple iCloud

• You can log in to your account at https://appleid.apple.com/, then search for Two-Factor Authentication under Security.
• The next step would be to verify your location, and it will send a code to your other Apple devices.
• iOS

To set up 2FA on your iOS account, the steps will be a bit different. Majorly, it will depend on how you have updated your iOS software.

• For users using iOS 10.3 or later versions, click on Settings > your Name > Password & Security.
• You can turn on 2FA to receive a text message with a code every time you log in.

For users using iOS 10.2 or earlier versions, go to Settings under iCloud > Apple ID > Password & Security.

• macOS

Similar to iOS, a few of the steps may vary depending on the version of macOS.

• If you are using Catalina, click the Apple icon, then click System Preferences > Apple ID.
• The next step would be to click on Password & Security under your name and finally click Turn On Two-Factor Authentication.

8. Instagram

In 2017, two-factor authentication was added by Instagram to the mobile app, which can be activated via the web. If you want to activate 2FA on your mobile device, you need to go to Profile and click on the menu and look for Settings & Security. There you will find two-factor authentication.

With Instagram, you also get to choose between SMS-based verification and a code sent to the authentication app.

Source: Kaspersky

Why is 2FA important

As cybercriminals are getting smarter, 2FA has become more mandatory than ever. Without it, you might end up leaving your accounts vulnerable to hackers for sealing your personal information, hacking your online credit card details, and accessing your bank account. By adding the additional step to your account, you get the edge to prevent hackers from accessing your account.

Setting Up 2FA with LoginRadius Adaptive 2FA/ MFA solution

LoginRadius provides multi-factor authentication via SMS, email, automated phone calls, account security questions, and authenticator apps to allow you a customized user experience.

Based on your business, you can choose to use LoginRadius's Identity Platform's Multi-factor authentication, which is an easy process.

Currently, LoginRadius provides its support authentication methods via SMS workflow and Google Authenticator workflow.

For SMS Workflow

You can enable SMS verification from the LoginRadius admin console. There's also an option to choose your preferred SMS template and SMS provider.

As the first step, you'll need to apply a first verification factor, like standard email and password login, username and password, automated phone call, or access token. The second factor can be a one-time password or code sent via SMS.

Google Authenticator Workflow

For enabling Google Authenticator, the first step will be to set up your ID in the admin console for Google to identify your website or application on the authenticator.

Next, you will need to set up your QR code specifications or make MFA mandatory.

Similar to the SMS workflow, you can select standard email and password login, username, password, automated phone call, or access token as the verification factor.

Final Thoughts

With cybercrimes on the rise, it is essential to make your online security measures more robust. Hence, to protect your account and the history, you need to learn how to set up 2fa on your accounts for an additional safety cover. It not only protects your online social accounts but other accounts as well.

---

Originally published at LoginRadius

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The Different Ways Artificial Intelligence Solves Real-World Digital Identity Challenges

Javelin's 2020 Identity Fraud Survey revealed the total cost of identity fraud in 2019 to be about $16.9 billion (USD). This cost incorporates data breaches, fines from privacy regulations like CCPA and GDPR, and lost or damaged resources. Due to these imminent risks, the need to reliably authenticate the identities of users is crucial in your security infrastructure.

Fundamentally, users self-register. Self-registration is a form of identity proofing that captures just the phone number and email in most cases. This is not enough as it communicates minute details about the user. That's the more reason it is crucial to go beyond self-registration and leverage automated and intelligent identity proofing to identify users who need access into your system and network.

What is Identity Proofing?

Identity Proofing is a verification process of a user's identity. We should not mix this up with the normal authentication which is based on the combination of username and password. Identity precedes the time users secure their credentials to log into an application coupled with the normal authentication process.

To explain identity spoofing better, the two definitions provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST) will suffice. According to the NIST's Digital Identity Framework;

1. Claimed Identity: Data relating to the declared identity by users when they are registered into an IAM system. In other words, who they claim to be.
2. Actual Identity: Data that proves the validity of the user's identity.  This is who they really are.

Identity proofing has one major objective. It is to ensure the claimed identity synchronizes with the actual identity of users. This is why it functions as a first-layer of defense against intrusion on the identity perimeter.

Why use AI for Identity Proofing?

So the question is, why automate identity proofing? What are the flaws of the manual process?

Risk of compromise by ignorant staff

There have been several cases of compliance staff saddled with the responsibilities of verifying ID documents soiling their hands in identity theft. According to a report published on ABC News of a new trend where bank tellers steal confidential data.

The manual process is flawed. Once customers discover their confidential data are being used in dubious activities, they will never believe in the reputation of your company.

High cost of workforce

Setting up a human workforce will cost you compared to automating identity proofing. You will need to pay salaries, purchase computers, pay rent, and other miscellaneous expenses. For instance, it can cost you $45/hour to compensate the compliance team. That's about $225,000 in a year for a 1000 team. Marketwatch also published the average cost of renting a space per worker. Guess what? $14,800 per year in New York. If you resort to utilizing an automated solution, you can reduce all these costs by 70%.

Snail-speed processing

Aside from the cost, you will need considerable time to properly onboard the compliance team with a manual process. You can lose potential customers who need your services on the spot or have your reputation impacted due to poor handling by yet-to-be trained staff. Some financial institutions still employ manual KYC which can take more than two days or even weeks. If your clients need to wait for days, they might as well go elsewhere where the process is automated.

Human Error

Humans get tired and this fatigue can lead to error. This is a big challenge when using manual ID checks. On the other hand, machines don't get tired or bored; and they cannot lose focus. Not only that, errors can arise if an organization lacks a trained and competent compliance team.

Difficulty in Scaling

Manual ID checks become difficult to scale when accessing new markets. You would have to outsource a new team conversant with local regulations. Unlike automated checks where businesses can onboard new customers in real-time.

What are the benefits of Intelligent and Automated Identity Proofing?

• Automated Identity proofing eases the onboarding process and enables businesses to boost their client retention rates. With a digital solution, you can verify the identity of users within a few minutes.
• You can scale without hiring or outsourcing a large compliance team. Automation enables easy access to new markets.
• Secure storage of confidential data supplied by users.
• Documents are checked using innovative and advanced technologies such as OCR, Machine learning, and MRZ recognition.

What KYC solution providers check-in documents and how?

For an ID document to be successfully verified, the platform you choose will check the correct colors, document borders, brightness, and skews. Then, it classifies the document automatically by:

• type
• issuing country
• revision

Next, it verifies the visual authenticity. It looks out for the security features. Are the fonts correct or is the document a duplicate? Does it align with the document template guidelines? Is there a photo on it? After this, the MRZ (Machine-readable Zone) code matches in line with the document type, which is subsequently classified into values based on rules. These decoded values are matched for validity with data generated from the visual aspect of the document.

The system then scans for human portrait photos. Additional features like photo, signature, foto, barcode and QR code are extracted from the provided document. It also checks for the expiry date.

Utilizing the document data, it checks for the profile of the user and highlights any discrepancies. The system then requests the user to supply selfie photos coupled with the document to be verified. The selfie photo is compared with the portrait present on the document. This is to check whether the pictures are from the same individual.

How can companies automate identity proofing?

If you have made up your mind to automate your identity proofing process, here are things you need to know:

1. Identity document capture

The right solution permits businesses to integrate automatic file capture into their applications. The right tool will also guide users all through the verification process.

2. Biometric capture

The biometric tools enable users to pose for a selfie. It can also request a facial recognition video to match the identity of the holders with the documents.

3. Automated and hybrid analysis

Deep analysis performs real-time analysis of submitted files, as well as the biometric capture and compares the data sets. If there is difficulty in verifying the ID, a fraud expert will step in to manually check.

4. Real-time result

Having finalized the analysis, the user will be provided with a real-time result on the validity, authenticity, as well as uniformity of the documents analyzed.

Conclusion

AI in the field of automated ID Proofing has demonstrated better outcomes than human review. Machines do not get tired or bored, are not biased or prone to flaws common with human intervention. I strongly believe companies will accomplish better match results automating identity proofing compared to going manual.

---

Originally published at Entrepreneur

The Different Ways Artificial Intelligence Solves Real-World Digital Identity Challenges

Forward-looking businesses are using artificial intelligence to solve real-world digital identity challenges.

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How to secure an email address on your website

The present-day internet is a hotbed of spammers and hackers, and you need to secure your email address. Hackers often scan websites and web pages to extract genuine email addresses and exploit them to attack users with spam messages.

This should really concern you because many of these spam emails carry potential malware. When you open your mail or click on a link that contains it, the malware gets naturally downloaded to your system.

For example, let's assume you have entered your email address on a website's contact page, then there's a big chance the email harvesting bots have found it. Thereafter, they start flooding your mail-box with spam emails.

Luckily, there are a few ways to hide your email address from such spammers and hackers who constantly mine for the same. One way is through email harvesting.

Let's talk about what it is and then explore the various ways to secure your email address.

What is Email Harvesting

Email harvesting is the process of collecting lists of email addresses via different methods. Generally, it is used for bulk emails or spam. Hackers use "harvesting bots," which crawl multiple sites, chat rooms, web forms, etc., in a few seconds to extract a list of email addresses.

Other techniques include:

• Posting into UseNet with email addresses.
• Gathering data from white and yellow pages.
• Accessing the same computer used by valid users.
• Accessing emails and address books on another user's computer.
• Spamming through social engineering.
• Buying lists from other spammers.
• Hacking websites.
• Using the method of guessing and cleaning.
• Hacking mailing lists, webpages, web browsers, Internet relay chats, domain contact points, etc.

These methods allow spammers to gather email addresses and use them to send unsolicited bulk messages to the recipient's inbox.

6 Tips to Secure Your Email Address on a Website

1. Hide your email address while logging in.

One of the major mistakes committed by beginners is that they display their email address. If you are tensed and stressed about online hackers and threats, there is one solution you can always opt for.

You can always avoid listing your email address on various vague websites. Instead, you can use contact information through which genuine users can contact you.

2. Obfuscate your email address.

Add an obfuscate plugin puzzle to your email address so hackers cannot identify it. With the help of such plugins, you can replace your email address with codes. These plugins secure your email address from hackers and do not affect the user's usability.

3. Use a password manager.

Use a reliable password manager to change and replace all your passwords with solid, unique ones. We cannot sufficiently stress the importance of using strong passwords to secure your email address.

Hackers use credential stuffing where they literally jam previously stolen usernames and passwords to break into accounts on various services.

This is possible because a huge proportion of online users still use the same username and passwords across multiple accounts.

4. Use two-factor authentication or MFA, wherever possible.

When you set up your account passwords, look out for two-factor authentication (2FA)/ MFA as well. They are additional security layers that you can apply to prevent resets of unauthorized passwords significantly.

Whenever a hacker attempts to break into your email, you are notified and control the authority to accept or reject such attempts.

5. Replace your email address.

If you are not satisfied with any of the above solutions to secure your email address, you can always replace it with "". This would take the user directly to your contact page when they click on the email. This not only prevents tons of spam but also protects you from hackers.

6. Prevent email harvesting.

The following techniques can be used to prevent email harvesting:

• Convert your email address into an image.
• Merge your email address by changing the "@" sign to "at" and the "." sign to "dot."
• Use the email contact form wherever possible.
• Use email obfuscation in JavaScript. The email address will appear scrambled, encoded, or obfuscated in the source code.
• Use HTML for email address obfuscation.
• Prompt users to enter the correct CAPTCHA before revealing the email address.
• Using a spider trap to combat email harvesting spiders.
• Conduct mail server monitoring. This approach can be applied to the email server of the recipient. It dismisses all email addresses from any sender that specifies more than one invalid recipient address as invalid.

Conclusion

Harvesting bots are here to stay; thus, you must take appropriate measures to secure your email address. You can implement the above methods so that you don't become a victim of spammers and hackers in the long run.

Although it may take a while to get the hang of them, the results are worth spending time on.

---

Originally published at LoginRadius

How to secure an email address on your website

Secure your email address. Learn about email harvesting, its techniques and explore the various ways on how to secure your email address on a website.

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Single-Tenant vs. Multi-Tenant: SaaS Architecture

SaaS-based cloud implications have proven effective in rendering scalability while reducing costs for the organization. Thus, SaaS has become a standard delivery model for most business applications. Mostly SaaS supports both single-tenant and multi-tenant architectures and organizations can willingly choose their SaaS environment type based upon factors like security, cost, scalability, simple migration, customizability, etc.

This article comprehensively compares SaaS-based multi-tenant and single-tenant cloud architectures along with their benefits and drawbacks. The comprehension also points out which one to choose based on the organization’s requirements and scenario.

Single-Tenant Cloud Architecture

A single-tenant architecture dedicates a single instance of the software, infrastructure, or database to a single customer. The single-tenant system encapsulates all customer data and interactions distinctly from other customers. Moreover, customer information is not shared in any way.

In a single-tenant architecture, the provider helps manage the software instance and dedicated infrastructure while giving a single-tenant nearly complete flexibility over software and infrastructure modification. Single-tenancy models provide control, reliability, security, and backup capability. In addition, each tenant has its independent database and software instance, keeping them separate from one another. Each tenant's data also has a remote backup, allowing tenants to restore their data in case of data loss quickly. In most cases, tenants can choose when they want to install any available updates themselves rather than waiting for the service provider to do so.

Ultimately, potential customers who desire more control and flexibility to meet specific needs in their environment would likely prefer a single-tenant infrastructure over other solutions.

Benefits of Single-Tenancy

Although single-tenancy architecture is less common, it caters to easy auditing and maintenance. Here is the list of some other benefits a single-tenant cloud provides:

• Excellent Reliability: Single-tenant architectures are typically more reliable because one software instance serves one customer. So the entire system remains unaffected by other cloud traffic and peak load performance. Also, it becomes easier to scale as compared to the multi-tenant. Moreover, one can configure In-transit Network Routing in single-tenancy.
• Enhanced Data Security: Single-tenant cloud architecture separates application instances and supporting components like database and infrastructure for each customer within the same provider. So, there is no way for others outside of your organization to access your data in case of vulnerability. As a result, even if a customer with the same service provider experiences a data breach, other tenants remain protected.
• Simplified Migration: It is easier to migrate data from a single-tenant architecture since the data store contains data from a single customer. One does not need to worry about mixing customer data or using complicated migration scripts.
• Easy Customizations: In the case of SaaS, mainly the services are thoroughly managed by the service provider’s team. However, the service provider can give dedicated server access to customers in the case of single-tenant—for example; server logs access to customers. The same level of ownership or customization cannot be provided for multi-tenant customers.

Drawbacks of Single-Tenancy

Despite all of the potential benefits of single-tenancy, it is still the least popular architecture among competing options, which you could attribute to some of its drawbacks. The following are some of the disadvantages of single-tenancy:

• Higher Costs: Hosting one SaaS instance per customer increases the cost due to setup time, resources, customization, and maintenance.
• Lesser Deployments: While releasing customer-specific updates and features, all customer benefits in case of multi-tenant. Such feature updates are not generally released for single-tenant customers because of their separate application instances and related components.

Multi-Tenant Cloud Architecture

Multi-tenancy is another cloud architecture wherein a single instance of a software program serves numerous customers. People usually refer to the real estate analogy to explain Single-tenant vs. Multi-tenant cloud architecture.

Each customer in a single-tenant cloud lives alone in a single building with its security system and amenities, entirely secluded from neighboring buildings. Tenants in multi-tenant cloud architecture, on the other hand, live in various apartments within a single apartment complex. They are both protected by the same security system and have access to the same communal facilities. However, each resident has a key to their apartment, ensuring that their privacy is protected. The actions of other tenants, however, are more likely to affect their comfort in the property.

Most startups choose a multi-tenant architecture having a single massive database containing all customer information. Customer data is kept confidential with the necessary security systems in place. While customers cannot view each other's data, they are all stored in the same database, and all of the data gets processed by the same computer.

Benefits of Multi-Tenancy

• Lower Costs: SaaS allows businesses of all sizes to share infrastructure and data center operations expenditures, resulting in lower prices. It also reduces infrastructure implications as compared to single-tenancy-hosted solutions.
• Frequent Deployments: All customers get the feature updates when SaaS vendors release features in a multi-tenancy environment, even if a specific multi-tenancy customer initially requested the feature.

In contrast, the single-tenancy customer does not benefit from such scenarios.

Drawbacks of Multi-Tenancy

While multi-tenant cloud architecture is usually the best option for most SaaS customers, it can have some drawbacks, such as:

Greater Security Risk: As different customers share resources, the risk factor in a multi-tenant setup increases. In contrast to a single-tenant cloud, where security events remain isolated to a single customer, it is more likely to harm other customers if one customer's data is compromised.

In multi-tenancy, an organization's data is not visible to other tenants. However, multiple users without the organization's affiliation get access to the same database. This increases the security risks.

• Resource Availability: The increased load of one customer can impact other customers sharing the same resources in a multi-tenancy setup. While in a single-tenancy architecture of SaaS, this risk is not present as customers are provided with dedicated resources.

When to Use One Over the Other

A single-tenant setup of SaaS may be appropriate for certain companies or sectors where customer data privacy and security are paramount. The healthcare and finance industries are excellent examples, leveraging single-tenant cloud systems.

For example, when working with patient information, applications in the healthcare industry must comply with HIPAA regulations. To maintain compliance, each hospital may need to establish its own data center on-site. The same is true for certain forms of financial information.

Most consumer-facing applications and start-ups that require comparatively less customizability tend to use a multi-tenant setup of SaaS. Also, multi-tenancy is preferred by organizations that want to opt for a cost-effective solution.

Conclusion

There are a lot of other factors an organization must keep in mind while deciding which SaaS architecture to choose. Some business factors are the purpose of cloud adoption, type of application, budget, scalability, customization, migration, visibility, backup, and recovery. Finally, organizations must brainstorm what they want to achieve and how their company operates to arrive at the best, ideal solution.

LoginRadius provides both single-tenant and multi-tenant SaaS architecture for our CIAM solution.

---

Originally published at LoginRadius

Single-Tenant vs. Multi-Tenant: SaaS Architecture

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Engineering As Marketing: 5 Growth Hack Strategies For Modern Businesses

Engineering as Marketing is about utilizing engineering time to build helpful tools such as calculators, checkers or checklists, widgets, and even micro-sites that introduce your business to potential customers.

Engineering as marketing is an especially under-used medium, and when implemented correctly, it has proven to be very useful. It's under-used because it's very costly and can not suit traditional marketing or development plans. Imagine two weeks of iterations or tests where the critical route is to create a small project. It just doesn't work, either in terms of time or budget.

Engineering as Marketing is about using your engineering time (or that of your team) to create useful resources such as calculators, checkers or checklists, widgets, and even micro-sites that bring potential customers in need of your company.

In the long term, producing tools that your target audience finds useful will do wonders for your business. Ideally, organizations should expand exponentially to make this tool free for their users.

Here are some reasons why a business will produce high growth with free tools:

• Engineering, like marketing, is close to content marketing in the sense that you are creating assets. Free instruments can virally expand. And as the years go by, free resources will stay important to your users.
• And if your customers have the money to purchase software, a lucrative choice is still open.
• You have to build trust. It would be best if you showed your clients that you not only appreciate their concerns but are also willing to provide them with tangible value.

Five Engineering as Marketing Strategies

There are obstacles when it comes to engineering commercialization. It takes effort to develop and sustain an effective marketing plan for an engineering company, from selecting the correct tactics to writing the best sales copy.

Digital marketing is a vital part of how an engineering company can be sold. This is how most individuals now find information: for almost all, including businesses to work with, they turn to the Internet. So you could struggle to attract potential leads if your engineering company is not well-represented or easy to find online. Not just that, you're going to lose them to your rivals.

Create a more robust marketing approach with these five engineering marketing strategies for your engineering company:

1. Create High-Quality Content

The quality content, which can include anything from blog posts and videos to marketing guides and ebooks, is loved by search engines and social website users.

You will hit the most eligible prospects as they are already looking online by producing and publishing useful material. And after finding helpful content posted by your business, people will be more likely to want to find more information about your engineering company.

2. Utilize Social Evidence

One of the most relevant and frequently ignored tips is to use data from close to your future customers but have started using your device and are super excited about it. People prefer to trust what other individuals have already learned and checked and have something useful to share. Only add a couple of constructive reviews and comments on the website, and your conversion rates will see a boost.

Many B2B companies wonder why social media accounts should be started. Social media provides a perfect way to connect with current and future clients, regardless of the industry or business model.

3. Leveraging SEO

One of the easiest ways to boost your engineering company's online exposure is search engine optimization or SEO. It should be one of your top priorities when designing your overall marketing plan.

SEO requires making improvements to specific items on your website to increase the probability that the phrases you are targeting will rank well. These improvements may include adding keywords to your page names, updating and adding copies to your site, quicker loading of your pages, enhancing the layout of your site, and so on.

4. Launch an Email Newsletter

Email newsletters are a perfect way to communicate with prospective customers, keep in contact with current customers, and improve your link with both groups. While past email marketing tactics may have included making hard sales pitches, and you may think of e-commerce emails as being about sales specials or discounts, it is all about adding value to engineering email marketing.

5. The Power of Online Reviews

An increasingly significant feature of marketing engineering services is online feedback. Reviews are the modern-day word of mouth counterpart, and a successful review will help the company attract new customers. On the opposite, your chances of attracting fresh customers can be hurt by not getting feedback.

You should track your company's online feedback and respond to the questions people have about them. Try to take the feedback constructively and focus on improving any missed areas of your service.

Conclusion

You can incorporate a range of Internet marketing approaches with a little practice and some experimentation into a detailed strategy that increases your company's exposure and credibility, attracting more leads and inspiring more potential customers to select your company for their engineering needs.

If it blends into the overall story with goal and vision, the use of resources that might already be available in the organization is promising. Marketing as Engineering is at the top of the funnel region in the marketing funnel.

If you build the lead magnets so that they deliver a quick win and do not give too many possibilities to the consumer, you lay the foundation stone for throwing out a net in which you can attract the long-term attention of prospective customers to yourself.

---

Originally published at LoginRadius

Engineering As Marketing: 5 Growth Hack Strategies

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