Microsoft Account Gets Two-Factor Authentication

To reduce potentially unauthorized access to resources, the Microsoft account service was updated in Apr. 2013 to support two-factor authentication. The Microsoft account service is used by consumer-focused hosted services, such as Outlook.com (formerly Hotmail) and Xbox Live, as well as sites that are important to organizations, such as the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center and the Microsoft Developer Network. Two-factor authentication requires two independent characteristics to validate a user’s identity. However, administrators should use caution because enabling two-factor authentication increases the risk of losing access to accounts in the event both factors are lost, due to Microsoft’s reset policy.

Why Enable Two-Factor Authentication?

Two-factor authentication adds another level of protection over simple ID- and password-based authentication because it relies on multiple factors, such as the following:

• A fact the user knows, such as a password or a randomly generated