Security Authentication Provider Bought by Microsoft

PhoneFactor, a provider of multi-factor authentication, has been acquired by Microsoft.

Timothy Sutton, PhoneFactor CEO, said "when we initially launched PhoneFactor, we had a vision to deliver strong authentication as a seamless part of almost every process where an individual needs to access confidential or proprietary data." He then added that "phones provided the ideal platform."

"The acquisition of PhoneFactor will help Microsoft bring effective and easy-to-use multifactor authentication to our cloud services and on-premises applications," corporate vice president of Microsoft's server and tools division, Bharat Shah, said in a statement. "In addition, PhoneFactor's solutions will help Microsoft customers, partners, and developers enhance the security of almost any authentication scenario."

The purchase by Microsoft was ideal for the software giant as PhoneFactor's product already works with several services belonging to the former, including Outlook Web Access, Active Directory and Internet Information Services.

PhoneFactor's existing customers were given reassurance on the acquisition via an FAQ explaining how the purchase will affect them.

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Zak Islam is a freelance writer focusing on security, networking, and general computing. His work also appears at Digital Trends and Tom's Guide.

3 Comments Comment from the forums

echondo

Even though I do not know what/who PhoneFactor is, it's nice to see Microsoft taking the step forward with phone security, even though IE is a complete mess. xD
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mayne92

echondoEven though I do not know what/who PhoneFactor is, it's nice to see Microsoft taking the step forward with phone security, even though IE is a complete mess. xD
The article explains what PhoneFactor is and I'm not sure what IE has to do with anything here.

Google's multi-factor authentication (2-step verif.) is great in the sense of security but I couldn't get it to consistently remember the 1-time passwords I created for apps or remember the devices I asked it to. Anyone else have this problem?
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dalethepcman

mayne92The article explains what PhoneFactor is and I'm not sure what IE has to do with anything here.Google's multi-factor authentication (2-step verif.) is great in the sense of security but I couldn't get it to consistently remember the 1-time passwords I created for apps or remember the devices I asked it to. Anyone else have this problem?
A 1-time password is just that, a single use password. You need to add the devices to the allowed list by using your authentication key instead of using 1-time passwords.
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