Two-factor authentication, occasionally shortened to 2FA, is a growingly popular method of identity verification, especially as many vital aspects of everyday life become electronic. Two-factor authentication requires that the person signing in has at least two authentication factors. Even though there are unlimited combinations of authentication factors, the most common combination of the two authentication factors usually consists of a password and a text message on a phone. Having two factors of authentication significantly decreases the rise of both factors becoming compromised, therefore decreasing the risk of the account going into the hands of another individual.
While two-factor authentication dramatically reduces the risk of the account getting compromised, it does not completely eliminate risk. Two-factor authentication has been circumvented and broken, usually through a combination of hacking and social engineering hacking.
